This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the James Hampton (artist) article. Welcome! Was he touched by God?
That’s when his second vision took place. When it’s quiet and still, there’s a peace I can’t describe. From a young age, James was devoted to reading the Bible and claimed he often spoke with God.Every midnight, he’d clock out of the GSA and shuffle down the dark streets of the city, collecting items from garbage piles and dumpsters.Donate now to change a life foreverThree years later, James had another vision. As a friendless janitor in Washington D.C., Hampton collected discarded furniture, burned-out light bulbs, used jelly glasses, gold-and-silver colored aluminum foil, and other trash from government offices. But for one man, a sacred artwork might never have found a home in the Smithsonian.The glittering structure in front of him appeared to be made of precious metals.A year later, he was hired by the General Services Administration as a night janitor.
To nonbelievers, it may spook them.
Hampton received a tenth grade education, served in the army and was employed as a short-order cook … But payment had lapsed, so he cut the lock and slid back the heavy metal door. Flashes of silver and gold bounced so brightly off the walls that he was forced to squint. Over many years built a throne for Christ’s second coming in a rented garage. Ask questions, get answers. He also left a record in English of religious experiences. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. But to me, it’s the presence of the Lord.”I was hoping to catch some of that same awe Myer Wertlieb had experienced, hoping for some insight into how a simple man, a lowly janitor, shrouded in mystery, constructed one of the most fascinating works of American art.
Born in Elloree, South Carolina, his father was an itinerant Baptist preacher.
James Hampton was born in Elloree, South Carolina, in 1909. “It is true that on October 2, 1946, the Great Virgin Mary and the Star of Bethlehem appeared over the nation’s capital,” James wrote.James continued his labors—and recorded more revelations—until his death, from stomach cancer, in 1964. A slight quiet man who worked hard, Hampton was never married. *On this date in 1909, James Hampton was born. He believed he was inspired and directed by God in his work, and left a notebook of divine revelations in an illegible script. Myer Wertlieb walked around behind 1133 Seventh Street in Washington, D.C., lugging a pair of bolt cutters. This is the biography page for James Hampton. - IMDb Mini Biography By: James Hampton Spouse (2) Mary Deese (30 June 2002 - present) Carole Simpson (28 June 1964 - 2002) ( divorced) ( 2 children) Trivia (7) His unit in "F Troop" (1965) was F Troop, 6th Cavalry. Click here to start a new topic. And with him his fantastic creation might have died too, but for Myer Wertleib cutting open that garage door the following month, and realizing he’d stumbled upon something astonishing.His father was a black gospel singer and preacher whose call to the ministry was stronger than his dedication to his wife and four children. Prior to appearing in "F Troop", Hampton had been in the army, stationed in Fort Knox, KY. James Hampton was an American outsider artist from Washington, D.C., who worked as a janitor and secretly built a large assemblage of religious art from scavenged materials known as the Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, currently on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Soon I knew for certain that someone other than James Hampton intended for this to be seen.Myer Wertlieb walked around behind 1133 Seventh Street in Washington, D.C., lugging a pair of bolt cutters. James Hampton (April 8, 1909–November 4, 1964) was an African-American janitor who secretly built a large assemblage of religious art from scavenged materials, and is considered an outsider artist. He was an African American folk artist. He didn’t know much of what his tenant, James Hampton, was doing in the dilapidated garage—he wasn’t too concerned, as long as the 50 bucks rent was paid. Or was he just touched?At 19, James headed to Washington, D.C., to live with his older brother Lee and his family.