Above: "Card Game," a lithograph by Basil G. Hawkins (1903-1980), created while he was in the WPA, 1939. Hawkins was a graduate of the Flint Institute of Art in Flint, Michigan, and "was known as one of Michigan's leading artists" before moving to Arizona ("Basil Hawkins," The Arizona Republic, September 13, 1980). Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the University of Michigan Museum of Art.
Above: There is not a lot of information about Basil Hawkins on the Internet or in newspaper archives, but his name is mentioned in several Arizona newspapers in relation to art shows, and it seems Hawkins also worked for a stone-making business. The description for the photo above (which I think shows the Hawkins who worked in the WPA) reads, "Basil Hawkins, designer for Grand Canyon Cast Stone, removes rubber mould of flagstone design for use in machine making blocks with flagstone faces" ("New Cast Flagstone Developed," The Arizona Republic, March 16, 1953). The basic idea behind this new stonework was to pour colored concrete into rubber moulds, creating a flagstone-type design. Photo by E.D. Newcomer, Republic Photos, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.
Above: Interestingly, Hawkins made a self-portrait lithograph while he was in the WPA, and so we can compare this self-portrait, where he would have been 36 years-old, to the photo in the Arizona Republic, where he would have been 50 years-old. It seems the Hawkins in the Arizona Republic photo is indeed the same Hawkins who created "Card Game" and many other WPA artworks. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the University of Michigan Museum of Art.
Above: In his obituary (see the caption for the first image of this blog post), Hawkins is said to have lived at 1826 E. Pleasant Lane. This is 1826 E. Pleasant Lane in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2018. Notice the flagstone work on the front of the house. Considering that Hawkins worked for a flagstone-replica business, and assuming that this is the same house he lived in, could he have done the stonework we see here? In the Arizona Republic article cited in the second image above, it is reported that "Artistic flagstone work is now within reach of the average homeowner who wants to build a barbecue pit, patio wall, or add decorative touches to his home." Image courtesy of Google Streetview, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes.
Above: A closer view of the stonework, from the Google Streetview image above.
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