We Say Goodbye to Ab the Flagman

RIP Ab the Flagman

It is with a heavy heart I share the news that our friend, Roger Lee Ivens aka Ab the Flagman, has passed away. So many of you will remember Ab’s work in my gallery over the years. His love of patriotism was channeled into magnificent sculpture using found wood and antique pieces. He told me he remembered the flag on his father’s coffin and used it as a muse for his creative endeavors.

Another bit of serendipity influenced his career while, as a carpenter, he seriously injured several fingers and was laid up while healing. He puttered around making small flags and sold them out the back of his pickup truck in downtown Atlanta. Someone from the 1996 Summer Olympics planning committee spied him and commissioned a large flag for the Olympic village.

We installed numerous museum quality pieces in Central Florida including the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, the Orlando Chamber of Commerce, Orlando City Hall, numerous law and professional offices and many prestigious private collections.

It was an honor to know and work with Ab. A kinder soul I’ve never met.

Jeanine