Whip'poor-will

Everett Spruce

Everett Spruce, a founding member of the Lone Star Printmakers group (1938-1942), exhibited "Whip'poor-will" at the 1942/'43 fifth circuit Dallas Museum of Arts exhibition. It would be the last major exhibition for the group, which by late 1942 was reduced in numbers due to the war effort. By the end of the war many of the artists had been on a tour of duty or were sent to teaching positions in other parts of the country. Many of these printmakers did not return to art, but Spruce, who also a member of the Dallas Nine and a teacher at the Univeristy of Texas at Austin, was able to continue his career as both a fine artist and an educator.

The Whip'poor-will is a medium sized (9 to 10 inches) bird whose leaf brown, mottled coloring results in a great camouflage, needed since it does not make a nest, but lays its eggs on the ground, usually on some dead leaves. It is somtimes described as a bird which is "All Mouth and No Beak". It derives its name from its haunting call that has much mythology connected to it, some portending death. If their "nest" is disturbed they will flap around as if injured to lure the intruder away from the nest.

Spruce's subject lies on the ground with its head twisted to the sky as it calls out in the night, the time it is most active. The Whip'poor-will can be found in the East Coast of the United States, including East Texas where Spruce worked.