The Kinney Brothers from Salt Lick Creek

Written by Brenda S. Bear (brendasbear@gmail.com). Please do not copy or share my writing without my permission. Thank you for reading my stories.

On May 3rd of this year, two of the Lewis County artists featured on the City of Vanceburg’s new mural were Charley and Noah Kinney. These unforgettable brothers, who spent their entire lives in Toller Holler are remembered fondly by many, especially the older generation who either knew them personally or grew up hearing tales of their colorful lives.

Charley Kinney (1906–1991) and Noah Kinney (1912–1991) grew up in rural Kentucky and had limited education. Charley attended school for three years, while Noah went through elementary school. In 1960, Noah married Hazel and the three inherited the family’s 35-acre farm. Together, they led a self-sufficient lifestyle, farming tobacco, raising chickens, tending a large garden, and hunting. The property included a tobacco barn, a henhouse, and several sheds that doubled as workshops.

Charley, whose disability limited his ability to work in the fields, contributed in other ways. He baked pies and crafted baskets from oak trees to help support the family. In the 1970s, the Kinney brothers started making a unique type of folk art inspired by rural life and Appalachian roots. Charley liked to paint on window shades, depicting desert landscapes filled with animals. Charley’s artwork was often intense, with no hesitation in showing the blood and guts of dead animals. He frequently portrayed animals such as mules working in the fields or hunting dogs chasing raccoons. Even in simpler images like elephants or snakes, his uneasy brushstrokes and bold color added a sense of movement and urgency that is mostly missing from Noah’s work. Noah’s carvings almost always depict a single animal standing upon a board and appear to be gentler than his brothers. Even in his few renderings of multiple figures, such as his drawings of farm scenes, Noah’s animals are presented in a rather benign and communal fashion. Noah’s exotic animals — lions and tigers — often seem as unthreatening and domesticated as his farm animals, more like angry house cats than ferocious jungle beasts.

Both men shared their creations with neighbors and the community that surrounded them. From what I have learned about the Kinney’s, no one, including them fully understood the importance of their artwork.

Music was another central part of the Kinney brothers’ lives. From an early age, they played traditional Scots Irish tunes passed down through generations. Charley played the fiddle, and Noah played the guitar. Their barn became a gathering place, once described as the “spiritual epicenter of fiddle music in northeast Kentucky.” According to Kentucky Master fiddler Roger Cooper, their style wasn’t bluegrass, but “old-time music—like square dance music.” He also noted that the head of Salt Lick was home to one of the first square dances in the region.

In addition to performing, the brothers created a series of animated puppets and life-sized statues that accompanied their music. They built three figures, Rose Marie, Kathy Lee, and Ann Mary, each playing a guitar, fiddle, and mandolin. Mounted on a crossbar and operated with a foot pedal, the figures would move skillfully as the Kinney brothers played, showcasing their inventiveness and ability to repurpose materials from their workshop. They also had puppets named Matt, who “played” slide guitar, and one of “Old Dan Tucker,” a character from a 19th-century folk song.

Fellow musician John Herrod once recalled Charley telling him, “You can’t outdo nature, boys … natures got everything beat … whatever you’re cut out for, that’s what you’ll do for the rest of your life.” Coming from a man with only a third-grade education, the statement is a powerful reflection of a life lived with purpose and authenticity.

The first one-man show of Charlie Kinney’s work "Terrors, Holy and Otherwise: Works by Charley Kinney" was curated in 1992 by Julie Ardery at the Rasdall Gallery at University of Kentucky. The Kinney's work was also included in but not limited to Local Visions: Folk Art from Northeastern Kentucky, Morehead State University; Slow Time: The Works of Charley, Noah and Hazel Kinney, 2006, Kentucky Folk Art Center; the Huntington Museum of Art, West Virginia; Owensboro Museum of Art, Owensboro; Passionate Visions of the American South, New Orleans Museum of Art; and Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama; O’Appalachia- the 20^th Century American Folk, Self Taught and Outsider Art.

Auction records for Charley Kinney's works, such as a mixed media piece titled "Owl," can be found on Invaluable, providing insights into the market value and provenance of his art.

Charley and Noah Kinney passed away within six months of each other in 1991. Through their music, their art, and their enduring spirit, they left behind a legacy that continues to inspire and unite the Lewis County community.