Paint and mixed media on an old fashion space heater, a Christ-like figure surmounts the heater, the upper section painted with angels on a blue sky above biblical figures, the lower section painted with devils and outcasts, signed by Ronald and Jessie Cooper. The latch opens to reveal, instead of a heating unit, a group of devil figures.

24 x 13 x13 in.

From the Collection of James Boyles and David Hawkins, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

American Pie, Wilmington, North Carolina

After suffering two heart attacks, in 1984 Ronald was seriously injured in a motor accident. His recovery was painful and slow, and he suffered from clinical depression. With Ronald unable to work, the Coopers moved into a mobile home. Finally to ease his depression and boredom he began experimenting with woodworking, drawing on his Christian background for inspiration.

Ronald Cooper (1931-2012) was born in 1931 in Plummers Mill, Kentucky. He married Jessie Dunaway (1932-2013), a local girl of sixteen, in 1949. The couple would often work on pieces together, with Ronald carving and assembling pieces and Jessie painting the pieces.

Figure surmounting the heater is wobbling.