Lot 179: EDGAR A. McKILLOP (1875-1950), w. 1926-1938

Candlestick with a Wildcat Stamped on underside: MADE BY E A. McKILLOP BALFOUR N.C HAND CARVED walnut, mother-of-pearl and bone 101/4in. high NOTES Years after Edgar A. McKillop's (1879-1950) death his daughter Lelia would describe his creativity as being "just in him, it was just in him. He didn't take any schooling; he didn't take any training. And he never done any carving until he just got that wood. And he just went to work on it, and he just turned out all these things. It was just in him-- just talented. That's all you can say." Although Edgar A. McKillop carved clocks, human figures, and musical instruments, animal figures were his favorite subject. McKillop carved a wide variety of whimsical figures and his more fanciful carvings were of exotic animals not found in the hills of North Carolina such as kangaroos, gorillas and rhinoceroses, some of which he may have found in Bible illustrations. Even those animals McKillop could have observed in nature are embued with fantastical qualities. Although McKillop had no formal training as a woodcarver he was deft at producing utilitarian objects such as pots, dish pans, keys, plows, furniture and a plethora of other practical objects including the chisels he used for sculpting. Around 1926 McKillop was offered four black walnut trees from a neighbor in exchange for removing the trees from the neighbor's property. This marked the beginning of his fascination with sculpture, which continued until 1938, the time of his wife's death. McKillop used a sawed log, which he hewed and then hammer and chiseled into the desired form before sanding smooth. He usually chiseled the entire wooden figure out of a single block even when working with large complex forms. McKillop ordered the glass eyes and used bones retrieved in the local Balfour area for fashioning the teeth. FOr more information on Edgar A. McKillop see Charles G. Zug III, "E.A. McKillop: 'A Born Carving Man'", Robert S. Brunk, ed. May We All Remember Well, Volume 1 (North Carolina, 1997).