Mid-Atlantic Folk Art: Miles Carpenter, Part 2

Tidewater Times article, 1981

(Host's note: Anne Ashworth was a sophomore in high school when she wrote this article. Miles Carpenter died in 1985.)

By Anne Ashworth

Thursday, May 28, 1981

Miles Carpenter, 92 years of age, has not always been carving creative objects. Since he moved to Waverly in 1912, Mr. Carpenter has led and active and varied existence. He came to the town to start a sawmill operation. He has also operated an open-air theatre and an icehouse.

Mr. Carpenter started carving in 1940. Because the sawmill business was slow, he started carving to busy himself. He carved for a few years and then quit until 1955.

In 1970, Jeffrey Camp, a collector and art dealer, passed by Carpenter’s icehouse and noticed some of his carvings. He stopped and asked Carpenter if he would be willing to sell some of his work. Mr. Carpenter agreed and Camp introduced Miles Carpenter’s creations to the world.

Mr. Carpenter’s work has been placed in many museums. These include, the Museum of International Folk Art in Sante Fe, New Mexico, Williamsburg’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, and in a collection of the Chase Manhattan Bank. His work was featured in LIFE magazine, Antiques magazine, and in the pages of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

When asked about being in LIFE magazine, Carpenter replied, “If you’re famous enough to get in LIFE magazine, you are pretty famous.”

Although he is well respected in the art world, it does not seem to go to his head. He is a pleasant man and very honest about his work. The wood that Mr. Carpenter uses for his work is usually found in the scrap pile or friends bring him odd pieces found in the woods. He often can visualize an image in the wood and just carves it out. He uses all hand tools except for an electric grinder and a small sander.

Some of his carving is done in a chair by a wood stove in the kitchen. In this comfortable setting, he has created many outstanding and fanciful creatures.

His first and favorite [major] carving is a woman and greyhound. The idea came from a Greyhound Bus Line advertisement from about 1940. When interviewed, Mr. Carpenter had just finished two new women and greyhounds. These were excellent, but they could not possibly top his first carving of the same figures.

It took him six weeks to carve the first young woman and dog. The new works required about two months to complete. Mr. Carpenter informed that the faces of the women take the longest time to carve. Each of his small birds require four to five hours of work; he can make about two a day.

Watermelon slices are carved in all sizes. Mr. Carpenter believes he created the interest in watermelon slices. His slices can be recognized by the fact that the bite is taken out of the side of the slice rather than the middle.

In 1980, Mr. Carpenter carved Miss Lena Wood. Her name is Lena because she is so thin; and, of course, she is made of Wood. She is life size and sits in Mr. Carpenter’s 1951 Chevrolet. Miss Wood rides with him everywhere he goes. Mr. Carpenter is a completely fascinating gentleman; he is extremely entertaining. His home is filled with exotic and familiar creations. Visiting Mr. Carpenter is a wonderful experience; it must be somewhat like visiting the workshop at the North Pole.