Leroy Person's Hen and Chicks with Rooster deceives the viewer with its apparent simplicity. But there is nothing elementary about the birds, heavily worked with deeply incised patterns imitating feathers and wings, or the expanse of grass, presented as if heavily scratched by claws. Nor is there anything rudimentary about the coloration of this sculpture. For Person, wax crayons were the instrument of choice, and he would crush the material by forcefully drawing into the wood. In this piece, the wax is so heavily applied that the surface appears almost polished. Person's intimate knowledge of the rural North Carolina landscape is counterbalanced with expressive coloration: one chicken is magenta, another purple. Even though the work is highly stylized, it remains rooted in nature.

Person made several hundred objects, primarily idiosyncratic pieces of furniture and small sculptures. He began to carve after retiring from his job in a local sawmill. Although his family initially was not supportive of his artmaking endeavors, one of his neighbors valued Person's creative expression and encouraged him to continue. The construction of this work suggests an interesting purpose for this tableau. The figures sit in peg holes on the orange base almost as if this were an inventive homemade game. One can easily imagine children racing one another to match up each bird with its proper hole.

Brooke Davis Anderson, "Hens and Chicks with Rooster," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 387.