Artist brings Merrick to life

North Carolina artist Max Dowdle is on a quest to paint 100 murals in 100 counties across his home state, and he made a stop in Clinton this week to complete what will be his second piece, honoring a historic figure.

Taking a trip to the corner of Vance Street and Fisher Drive, Dowdle was painting on the side of the Quality Printing Plus building. His piece pays homage to the man who’s dedicated marker sits right across the street from Dowdle’s mural — John Merrick.

“So I am currently working on a project called Legacy NC 100 murals in 100 counties where I’m embarking on painting a mural in every single county of North Carolina,” Dowdle said this week. “Those murals are all highlighting people of note, industries of note, myths, infamous stories, things that make North Carolina special, in general and, particularly, the county in which their mural will be seated.”

On his journey to 100 murals, Dowdle was brought to Sampson after connecting with Clinton’s Planning and Main Street Director Mary Rose, who reached out to him about doing a featured work on Merrick.

“So it was Mary Rose. She approached me about featuring John Merrick, who is famous for being born near Clinton,” Dowdle explained. “He was a slave, then became not only free but a really prominent member of society. It’s really awesome to be able to be a part of his history by featuring a portrait of him right on one of the main gateways into downtown.

“It’s been a awesome process so far, just all the positive response that I’ve gotten from people driving by, stopping, honking, giving thumbs up, waving, clapping and everything else … it has been overwhelming.”

Rose noted that the project was made possible thanks to funds the Main Street program received through a grant.

“The Clinton Main Street program has been fortunate enough to receive a capital grant from the Sampson County Convention and Visitors Bureau,” she said. “We’re going to dedicate it (the mural) on Oct. 12, which is the day of the Square Fair, at 9:30 a.m., and we’ve invited Max to come back down for that.

“We’ve also invited Mr. Larry Sutton who has advocated for John Merrick’s recognition for a number of years, so we want him to be apart of that dedication as well.”

Merrick was born some 10 miles outside of Clinton in the Taylors Bride area. He eventually found his way to Raleigh, becoming a bootblack in a barbershop. It’s there that he learned the trade which led to his start of a touted entrepreneurial career. The most memorable of his ventures was being one of the founders of the North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company, which eventually became the largest black-owned insurance company in the United States.

It was those two historical endeavors from Merrick that were the basis for Dowdle’s mural.

“The piece is sort of a bold portrait that pops out from a colored background, and in the background, we wanted something that was kind of cool and receding,” the artist pointed out. “It features John Merrick in his barber days and the more humble beginnings. And then, we also have the historical plaque about Black Wall Street that’s in Durham.

“It talks about John Merrick and his legacy and we wanted that to be a sort of prominent, or a pop out focus, from the upper left part of the mural. That way people can see it as they’re driving in. So definitely, the whole idea is for it to be eye-catching, and something that causes people to stop. But, it’s also educational and informative about who John Merrick is, especially because it’s situated right next to his own historical marker across the street.”

Dowdle completed his first project in Laurinburg before making his way to Sampson County. He arrived and has been working on the project since Tuesday (Sept. 3). If all goes well, by end day’s end Friday the mural is expected to be complete.

“I just finished a project in Laurinburg for the Laurinburg Institute where I did a mural of some of their historic alumni, so Clinton is my second,” he said. “It’s been nothing but a pleasure working on this and interacting with the people of Clinton.”

That level of reception was shared by the community, people such as Mozell Faison who’s building Dowdle was painting on and Rose.

“We’re excited to have it; I think he’s (Dowdle) doing an excellent job, and it looks very professional,” Faison said. “I never knew John Merrick or anything about him until they put the marker up. After that, people started talking more about him and I started reading more about him so it’s an honor to have his mural painted here.”

Rose shares that sentiment.

“From a personal side, I’m just excited that Mr. Sutton’s advocacy to recognize John Merrick, over the past several decades, has not only brought the marker to fruition but has also led to this amazing mural,” Rose asserted. “On the side of downtown, these types of projects are what the Clinton Main Street program design committee works to accomplish to make the heart of our community more vibrant.”

A 100 murals in 100 different place is a huge undertaking ,and while Dowdle has a vast love for art it was a sense of paying it forward to the state he calls home that sent him on this quest.

“So I’m from North Carolina, originally. My ancestors go back here seven generations,” he said. “I was born in Greensboro, and funny enough, my dad was actually born in Rose Hill, right outside Clinton here. I just learned that the other day. He was born in his grandmother’s house down there in Rose Hill. I also grew up in in Greensboro, Winston, Salemburg, Fayetteville, so I’ve moved all over North Carolina.

“Eventually I moved away but always wanted to come back, which I did in 2012 and made a home in Apex with my family. Eventually we moved, and now we live outside of Hillsborough, so we’re centrally located in the state. As you can tell, I love North Carolina, which makes me want to do this project.”

As for where the idea for the project originated, Dowdle said it was a collaborative idea that he formed with the retired director of the North Carolina Museum of Art.

”I started working with this really extraordinary gentleman, Dr. Lawrence Wheeler, who was the director of the North Carolina Museum of Art” Dowdle said. “He and I started brainstorming ideas that could be something really meaningful and big, that was artistically impactful for the entire state. We came up with this idea of legacy and started putting the wheels in motion.

“I got some other great organizations on board backing me up, including the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, NC Main Street and the North Carolina Museum of Art as well. There’s also a lot of other independent backers who have helped me sort of make the connections that I need and just got me in touch with the people that I need to see this thing through. It’s been snowballing pretty good since then.

“I’ve got 10 more lined up that I’ll be finishing up through the end of this year ,and then I’ll be working into the next cohort next year as I climb to 100.”

For those that want to see more of Dowdle’s art or to follow him on this journey to complete Legacy NC 100 murals in 100 counties he said look him up.

“If you don’t have the website go to, NCpublic art.com, then you can find me or people can find me on Instagram under my name, Max Dowdle.”