Cowboy, 1976

William Dawson held forth in his clean and modest Chicago Public Housing apartment very close to where we live. I visited fairly often to keep up on his latest projects. He talked easily about the old days as a security guard in the Randolph Street produce market back when Al Capone appeared on site. When his carvings were included in the Smithsonian's groundbreaking 1982 exhibition Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980, Dawson, never lacking in self-esteem, behaved as if meeting Nancy Reagan was only a natural result of his artistic talent. -M.F.