This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 7, 2011 - In a description of himself for a 1999 exhibit, Ernest Stix wrote: "I'm an addicted and incorrigible scavenger (who finds) convenience and challenge in multiples and delight in discerning and discovering art in the overlooked."
The well-known "found art" sculptor, who saw beauty and function where others saw trash, died Tuesday following a brief hospitalization at Missouri Baptist Medical Center. Mr. Stix was 95 and had lived in University City nearly six decades.
A remembrance for Mr. Stix will be held at 2 p.m. today Oct. 7, at the Gatesworth, One McKnight Place in University City.
"He saw art everywhere," said his longtime friend, Kay Drey. "I was with him once when he found a slab of hardened asphalt near Powell Hall, and he took it home and made a piece of art out of it."
Discarded bolts, metal scraps, coat hangers, chunks of wood or even kitchen utensils found new life in Mr. Stix's hands.
"He found ways to make the shapes and designs he saw everywhere fun and appealing, and gave them crazy, wonderful titles," Drey said.
Transformations
One such title is "Homage to Brasscusi," a sculpture of two Sousaphones that has been on display for passersby and patrons in the second floor window of the University City Public Library for decades. It is one of several pieces that pay tribute to Romanian abstract sculptor Constantin Brancusi.
During the 1980s, Mr. Stix's work was shown for extended periods at St. Louis Community College at Meramec and Fontbonne University.
At the end of 1999, Mr. Stix and fellow artist Robert L. Rosenheim began exhibiting "Transformations" at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The display was billed as "witty three-dimensional works (that) express the joy in transforming what has been fortuitously found in our city streets by two local men who are not artists by profession."
His art was not his official occupation, but it was his life's work.
Judith Saul Stix, a poet and Mr. Stix's wife of 58 years, recently wrote about her husband's commitment to his craft: "With a keen interest in art and architecture, (he) does not consider his work serious, while approaching it with all seriousness."
A Different Drummer
Ernest William Stix Jr., the middle child of Erma Kingsbacher and Ernest William Stix, was born in St. Louis on April 27, 1916. His mother was president of the League of Women Voters, which was crucial to women gaining the vote in Missouri. His father was an executive at Rice-Stix, which was co-founded by his grandfather, William Stix. Rice-Stix became one of the largest dry goods wholesalers in the nation.
Mr. Stix grew up in what is now the Stix International House, which serves as the international student center on the Washington University campus.
He graduated in 1934 from John Burroughs School, the school his parents helped found.
He earned an A.B. in economics and an M.B.A. from Harvard University and was drafted into the horse cavalry almost a year before the United States entered World War II. He served in the Aleutian Islands for more than two years, ending his five-year service as a captain.
There were plans for Mr. Stix to join the family business and for a time he did, serving as an officer for Rice-Stix. But it was not a perfect fit. His heart longed to be creative.
He became a publisher.
Operating as Westgate Press, Mr. Stix published a biography of renowned St. Louis painter Bessie Lowenhaupt, Bessie Lowenhaupt: From Life, written by his wife, Judith. He initiated the St. Louis Art Museum's book, The Art of Bessie Lowenhaupt, by Joyce K. Schiller. Lowenhaupt's paintings, like Mr. Stix's sculptures, are bold, yet delicate structured stories of simplicity.
He published his wife's work, most notably the four-volume hardcover book of poems Woman/Years and Sweet Length of Days, selected love poems of which Mr. Stix was always the subject. He was known to sit beaming in the audience as his wife read her poetry aloud.
"We admired his sculptures and her poetry," said longtime friend Yvonne Logan, speaking for herself and her husband Joseph.
Mr. Stix returned briefly to a structured workday to serve as the first executive director of the revived Greater St. Louis Community Foundation and he served on the boards of the Jewish Educational and Vocation Service, Nursery Foundation and People's Art Center.
But for most of his life, Mr. Stix celebrated the wonder of creative transformation.
Surrounded by Art
Every environment created an opportunity for his art. He pioneered downtown loft living, making his home at 1409A Pine Street, across from the old Kiel Opera House. He furnished his loft with found-and-transformed objects and materials, including his "Permanent Floating Christmas Tree." This time he was paying homage to Alexander Calder, an American sculptor and artist best known for his modern mobile sculptures.
His most cherished sculpture was the wedding ring he made for Judith. He fashioned the mockup from the thin copper wire that was used to wrap newspapers. A goldsmith made the final ring.
"It was one loop folded on itself," Judith Stix said proudly as she extended her hand to show the ring she's worn since her "surprise" wedding.
It was a surprise because the couple's families thought they were gathering for an engagement announcement at the Stix home; instead, all arrangements had been made for a wedding. They were married April 24, 1953, by James F. Hornback, then head of the Ethical Society.
Judith Stix begins her poem, The Tower: "Like old dogs, sight and hearing dimming, still we keep living royally as kings or emperors, surrounded by our art and books, feasting on violins before our breakfast."
Mr. Stix was preceded in death by his sister, Elizabeth Stix Fainsod, and his three brothers, William Stix, John Stix and Thomas Stix.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Susan Stix (Benjamin Mann), Austin, Tex.; Peter Stix (Amy Jesaitis), Albany, N.Y.; and Robert Stix (Anita Stix), Red Bank, N.J., and six grandchildren.
Friends are invited to visit with the family at 2 p.m., Fri., Oct. 7 at the Gatesworth, One McKnight Place.
Gloria Ross is the head of Okara Communications and the storywriter for AfterWords, an obituary-writing and production service.