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Admiring the works of Max Tharpe
Regan Hill photo
Photographer Max Tharpe reads a story of his life’s work during a private gathering Thursday at the Iredell Museums Gallery.
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Published: November 14, 2008
Earnest Brewer has lived a rough life. He's 64, but a hard decade more than that is etched on his face.
His glazed eyes seem to betray a disconnect and, even with the help of a cane, he has trouble walking.
But at the preview party of the new Max Tharpe Photography Exhibition held Thursday night at the Iredell Museums Gallery, Brewer was one of the stars.
Brewer still answers to the nickname "Butch," which he picked up around the time Tharpe took photos of him and his dog, Whitey, some 60 years ago.
"Whitey was a just a mixed breed," Brewer recalled during the party. "He was a mongrel, but he was as smart as anything."
But greater than his fondness for Whitey was the special place in his heart that Brewer kept for Tharpe.
"Max made me famous," Brewer said. "I remember him taking those pictures like it was yesterday.
Everyone knew about it. I got letters from Uncle Remus and Walt Disney and it was the best time."
Brewer now lives in Jacksonville and, as a result of the investigative work involved in putting the exhibit together, he was reunited with a son he hadn't talked to in two years.
Bob Stamey is now 62 and he can't recall the day he was photographed by Tharpe next to a calf at the Iredell County Fair in the summer of 1949.
"I was three, I guess, when that was taken," said Stamey, a lifelong Statesville resident.
"But I do remember Max coming to our house and our farm several times and taking pictures of my family and our animals," Stamey added. "He was always so smooth. He knew how to get the cooperation of children. He was just so nice."
Stamey also recalled that Tharpe knew a thing or two about how photography works.
"He came at just the right time," Stamey said. "It was always late in the day, near sundown, in the times when the light was good."
Photos in the exhibit also include those of James Matthew Parsons and Dan Mallard, when they were young boys. Both died recently.
Reggie Mallard is Dan's son. He said his father would have reveled in the reflected spotlight of a photo taken when Harry Truman was president.
"He would have been so honored to be in this exhibit," Reggie said. "He would have felt like he arrived. This would have been his moment."
But much of that moment was owned by Tharpe himself, who is now 88 and confined to a wheelchair.
"This is amazing," Tharpe said as he entered the gallery. "With all the white walls. This is a beautiful place for the photographs."
When asked if he recalled the circumstances surrounding any of the photos, Tharpe quickly shot back, "I remember all of them. Every one."
The party itself had to have been considered a smashing success.
An array of fancy finger foods, catered by Mayos Ristorante, had some there saying they had never tasted better. And the overall environment was one more likely to be seen in New York than Statesville.
"This is fabulous," said Julia Wilson, president of Iredell Museums board of directors. "I think we have really raised the bar with this. We have had very nice exhibits in the past but the time and effort and research that went into this was incredible. And this is extraordinary."
Rob Collier, the board's treasurer agreed.
"You know when you see tears in peoples' eyes you've done something right," he said. "That's what art is supposed to do."
The exhibit opens to the public today. The Iredell Museums Gallery is located at 134 Court St.
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