William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. Women, Biblical figures and animals were among his favored subjects, although he also produced more utilitarian items such as tombstones and birdbaths. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century.
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951), "Mother and Child," carved limestone figure of a woman carrying a young child with one arm and holding a book or pocketbook with the other. The subjects both have short, textured hair and rudimentary facial features, and the body of the child, clinging to the mother, is well defined. As with many of Edmondson's female figures, the back of the subject's skirt angles slightly away from the other sides, conveying a sense of movement. The figure has areas of painted surface in a tan/grey color. Height: 11 3/4" H x 4 3/4" W x 6 7/8" D. Provenance: Private Nashville collection, by direct descent from Julia Otey Lee (1947-2012), who is believed to have acquired the sculpture from her parents, Ford Essex Otey and Elnora James Otey of Nashville. The Oteys were members of a noted African American family with a long history in Davidson and Williamson Counties. Elnora (1921-2008) was a poet and ceramicist; Ford (1920-2012) worked in the family's North Nashville grocery business, was a barber and a licensed mortician, and also operated what was said to be the largest black owned salvage store in the city, on Heiman Street. Julie Otey Lee was a genealogy researcher and board member of the Middle Tennessee Genealogist Society (research conducted by her and her brother helped trace the family's lineage back at least to the early 1800's). A notarized affidavit of provenance from the consignor accompanies this lot. Artist biography: William Edmondson, the first African American artist to have a solo exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art (1937), was born in Davidson County, Tennessee. The son of freed slaves, he worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as a chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17-year art career. Although Edmondson's earliest work was more utilitarian in nature, such as tombstones and birdbaths, as his style matured his subject matter grew to include Biblical figures, various animals, and female figures (frequently based on women he knew from his community). This sculpture relates to several known Mother and Child sculptures created by Edmondson. It is, however, unusual or possibly unique because of the addition of the pocketbook in the other hand, an element more typically found on his female subjects without children. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE AUCTIONS, INC. FOR DETAILS. (865) 558-3033 or BID@CASEAUCTIONS.COM
Louise Dahl-Wolfe (American, 1895-1989) Photograph. Title - William Edmondson. Original circa 1937 gelatin silver print photograph of African-American folk art sculptor William Edmondson (1874-1951). Photograph is guaranteed to be original and not a later reprint or reproduction. Photo comes from the estate of NY fashion photographer Gene Fenn (1911-2001) who prior to becoming a noted photographer, was an assistant to Louise Dahl-Wolfe. The last image provided shows the original box the photograph was stored in along with a photograph of Louise Dahl-Wolfe (most likely taken by Gene Fenn) and books on the artist. The photograph is in good condition and not laid down. The photograph is secured in place by four archival corner pockets and is archivally matted and framed. Image size measures 8” x 7”. Frame measures 20” x 16”. Louise Dahl-Wolfe (1895-1989) From National Museum of Women Arts: As a staff photographer for Harper's Bazaar, Louise Dahl-Wolfe introduced a witty naturalism to the staid conventions of fashion photography and helped pioneer the use of color film. After studying painting, figure drawing, and design at the San Francisco Institute of Art, Dahl-Wolfe began experimenting with photography in 1921, inspired by Anne Brigman's photographs. In 1928, Dahl-Wolfe married American sculptor Meyer (Mike) Wolfe and soon established herself as a professional photographer. The couple moved to New York City in 1933, where Dahl-Wolfe worked as a freelance photographer before accepting a position at Harper's Bazaar in 1936. At the magazine, she enjoyed considerable creative freedom as part of a formidable creative team including fashion editor Diana Vreeland. Dahl-Wolfe often juxtaposed her models with famous works of art, resulting in surprising and irreverent compositions. Fashion assignments led her to locations around the world, where she posed her models outdoors, in natural light. Throughout this period, Dahl-Wolfe also created striking portrait photographs of society figures and art world celebrities, including authors Carson McCullers and Colette, designer Christian Dior, and sculptor Isamu Noguchi. Following her departure from Harper's Bazaar in 1958 until her retirement in 1960, Dahl-Wolfe did freelance work for publications including Vogue and Sports Illustrated. Dahl-Wolfe's photographs are often cited as an influence on later photographers, notably Richard Avedon and Irving Penn. From International Center of Photography: Born in Alameda, California, Dahl-Wolfe studied at the San Francisco Institute of Art. In 1921, while working as a sign painter, she discovered the photographs of Anne Brigman, a Pictorialist based in California and associated with the Stieglitz circle in New York. Although greatly impressed by Brigman's work, Dahl-Wolfe did not take up photography herself until the early 1930s. Travel with the photographer Consuelo Kanaga in Europe in 1927-28 piqued her interested in photography once again. In 1932, when she was living with her husband near the Great Smoky Mountains, she made her first published photograph, Tennessee Mountain Woman. After it was published in Vanity Fair in 1933, she moved to New York City and opened a photography studio, which she maintained until 1960. After a few years producing advertising and fashion photographs for Woman's Home Companion, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bonwit Teller, she was hired by Carmel Snow as a staff fashion photographer for Harper's Bazaar in 1936. Dahl-Wolfe remained with the magazine until 1958, after which time she accepted freelance assignments from Vogue and Sports Illustrated until her retirement in 1960.Dahl-Wolfe was especially well-known during the infancy of color fashion photography for her exacting standards in reproducing her images. Her insistence on precision in the color transparencies made from her negatives resulted in stunning prints whose subtle hues and unusual gradations in color set the standard for elegance in the 1940s and 1950s. In addition, she pioneered the active yet sophisticated image of the "New Woman" through her incorporation of art historical themes and concepts into her photographs. From CreativePhotography: Louise Dahl-Wolfe (United States, 1895-1989) is best known as a fashion photographer. Her tenure at Harper's Bazaar from 1936 until 1958, a period when the journal was at the vanguard of dramatic changes to the style and content of women's magazines, provided her with particular prestige. Although she is generally recognized for her astute and early use of color photography to illustrate fashion, a closer examination of Dahl-Wolfe's body of work reveals a much more complex photographer. Through masterful combination of artistic skill, art historical knowledge, cultural consciousness, and aesthetic refinement, Dahl-Wolfe created images that constitute important contributions to the history of photography. Dahl-Wolfe enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1914, studying design, composition, art history, and color theory, among other topics. By 1919, she began to focus on photography, working in the Bay Area and traveling to Europe and North Africa. She met and married Meyer Wolfe, and the two returned to his home state of Tennessee in 1932. There, Dahl-Wolfe photographed rural life during the Great Depression. These images launched her career: a selection of them was published in Vanity Fair, and four were included in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Joining the staff of Harper's Bazaar in 1936, Dahl-Wolfe arrived at an ideal time: major changes in magazine publishing and fashion photography were underway, and there was ample room for creative innovations. Throughout Dahl-Wolfe's tenure at Harper's, she benefited from successful collaboration with the staff there, including Carmel Snow, editor-in-chief; art director Alexey Brodovitch; and fashion editor Diana Vreeland. Dahl-Wolfe was remarkably prolific, contributing 86 covers during her 22-year tenure, as well as hundreds of color and many more black-and-white images. As she perfected her signature aesthetic style-straightforward and clear in focus with strong elements of composition and design-she received extensive editorial feedback and guidance. Her style characterized the look of the magazine for two decades. Similarly, Dahl-Wolfe herself displayed fortitude in her professional decisions: she left Harper's Bazaar when a new art director tried to exert influence on her work, choosing to give up her career rather than relinquish her creative freedom. The Louise Dahl-Wolfe Archive at the Center for Creative Photography includes about 450 prints, along with papers, photographic materials, and memorabilia. It holds contact prints and negatives of fashion illustrations for Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and Sports Illustrated, as well as family and personal photographs, portraits and correspondence with other photographers, artists, and fashion personalities such as Irving Penn, Cecil Beaton, Carmel Snow, Diana Vreeland, Carson McCullers, and Edith Sitwell. From Louisedahlwolfe.yolasite.com:FAMILY Louise Emma Augusta Dahl (L.E.A.D) was born November 19, 1895 in San Fransisco, California (her mother thought it was good luck if the initials of a child's name spelled a word). Both of her parents were from Norway. Her mother's family moved to the United States where they started a farm in Iowa after her father had lost a lot of money in the timber industry. Louise's father left Norway and came to the U.S. in 1872 working as an engineer designing engines in Pennsylvania. Her parents met and married in San Fransisco, where they lived with Louise and her two sisters for many years. ART SCHOOL In 1914, Louise became a student at the San Fransisco Institute of Art. While there, her days were spent doing cast and life drawings, painting and composition, anatomy, color, and design. She drew with charcoal in life classes and erased mistakes with the rolled up inside of sourdough bread. The first course taught in color at art schools was taught by Rudolph Schaeffer, whom she had the privilege of studying under. Louise had always wanted to be a painter and if painting didn't work out she wanted to go to New York after art school to study interior decorating. However, because of the death of her father in 1919, she stayed in San Fransisco and took up a job designing electric signs. Then, a "wonderful accident": a friend of the photographer Anne Brigman introduced the two, after meeting, Brigman invited Louise to her studio (Brigman was part of the Stieglitz group, which was a group devoted to getting photography recognized). After looking at some of Brigman's photographs of nudes in ice caves and in cypress trees, she fell in love with the possibilities of the camera. It was at this moment she decided that she must get a camera. CAREER In 1923, Louise left San Fransisco for New York to study interior decorating and architecture. After a year in New York City, Louise became an assistant to one of the top decorators in San Fransisco, Beth Armstrong. In 1926, after her mother was killed in a car accident, she moved to Europe with some friends. While traveling to meet a friend in Africa, she came across an American Artist named Meyer (Mike) Wolfe. They hit it off instantly and married in San Fransisco shortly after. She began taking photography very seriously and after the wedding she purchased a 5 x 7 view camera with a wide-angle lens. Not too long after, her and her husband were traveling back to New York where she was hired by Woman's Home Companion magazine to do food photographs. Around the same time, a friend of hers, Anne Wille, was working for Women's Wear Daily and suggested that Louise take her photographs to Vanity Fair. The editor, Frank Crowninshield decided to publish her photos in the November 1933 issue. After reviewing her photos he asked to meet Louise in person. She agreed, and in their meeting he told her that she had something great, and asked her to become apart of their team at Vanity Fair doing portraits of prominent people in the Conde Nast Studio. She turned down his offer, saying that "I could never work in someone else's studio. I am of an independent nature and need my own surroundings". Shortly after, under the direction of George Green she started working for Saks Fifth Avenue taking photos for catalogs and advertisements. She enjoyed working with Green, because he gave her freedom and allowed her to choose her own backgrounds. Around this same time, a friend of hers suggested that she try fashion photography. She admitted to knowing nothing about it, but figured no one else did either. Her friend let her use her showroom models and the clothes, under the conditions that she could use the photographs in the women's pages of her newspaper. This was a great experience for Louise. She got to practice lighting on them and figure out ways to get the women in her photos to look chic, elegant, beautiful, and most important, natural. Her first true advertising account was Crown Rayon, a division of the Viscose Corporation, in 1934. The dresses used were black crepe with white collars, cuffs, and accessories. Shooting indoors was easier because she could control the lighting and exposures better. Then to her good fortunes the Weston exposure meter surfaced which took away these mishaps, making it easier for her to shoot outdoors, which Louise became widely known for. HARPER'S BAZAAR In 1936, Louise started her long career of 22 years at Harper's Bazaar fashion magazine. Her job as a fashion photographer was to create beautiful photographs that spoke out about a designers' new clothing item in a natural way. Throughout her time there, the magazine published more than 600 photographs of hers, including 86 covers and thousands of black and white pictures. In the beginning of her career at Harper's she was doing the average color photography with the still lifes and accessories as main subjects. However, she longed to work with people. After a year of work she got her wish as she started doing portraits and fashion. At Harper's Bazaar, during this time, Louise worked under one of the best magazine editor's of all time, Carmel Snow. She worked under many other great people as well, including the fashion editor, Diana Vreeland, art director Alexey Brodovitch, managing editor Frances McFadden, and others. In her autobiography, Louise states that "her time at Harper's Bazaar would not have been as wonderful if it weren't for her determined and intelligent staff". Her career at Harper's Bazaar ended in 1958, when her colleagues Carmel Snow and Alexey Brodovitch resigned from their positions. The new art director visited her at her studio and this took Louise by surprise and took away her enthusiasm. She had never been told how to photograph or do her job hardly once since her time with the magazine and now it was happening. She enjoyed her freedom too much to put up with this so she herself resigned from Harper's Bazaar. ON PHOTOGRAPHY Throughout her years as a photographer, Louise went through many cameras as they advanced in their technology. One in particular, caused three worn-down vertebrae, a trip to the hospital and a traction; the seven pound Rolleiflex and 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 Graflex. After these incidents the doctors ordered her to balance her cameras on a tripod, which to her caused restrictions that just wouldn't fly. In her autobiography, A Photographer's Scrapbook, Louise makes a point of telling her readers that she would not have been such a success in her work if it weren't for her schooling at the San Fransisco Institute of Art. The classes that she took and her experiences with her teachers opened her mind up to the world and her surroundings. These experiences made it easier for her to see beyond just a photo. It allowed her to create beauty and in many people's eyes, art. Gene Fenn: NY Times Obituary : Gene Fenn, 90 Photographer - Published: November 21, 2001 PARIS Gene Fenn, 90, a fashion photographer for Harper's Bazaar and other popular women's magazines, died Nov. 14 in Paris. He studied photography and painting at Cooper Union in New York, and in 1930 assisted Louise Dahl-Wolfe, a rising fashion photographer for "Harper's Bazaar." In 1949, he went to Paris and studied painting under Fernand Leger and Andre Lhote and became part of the artistic milieu of the era. He knew Marcel Duchamp in New York, and in France he met Braque, Chagall, Leger, Miro, Picasso, Van Dongen and Zadkine, whom he photographed. He also came to know Man Ray in whose studio he compiled an unpublished documentary. He produced photographs for Newsweek and, in the 1970s, advertising campaigns for the International Herald Tribune. From Wikipedia: Eugene Fenn, aka Gene Fenn, (April 16, 1911, in New York - 2001, Paris) is a fashion photographer and American painter. First assistant of the greatest fashion photographers, he was hired by Alexei Brodovitch (in) in Harper's Bazaar, which he made ??such coverage in July 1944. He was well known for his stories and photos to the 8x10 room 'in Kodachrome of works Dior, Givenchy, Schiaparelli, etc. He reported US first electronic flash pro then copied by Balcar. Based in France in 1953, he met Fernand Léger will do switch to painting and photo-painting collages. His fashion photos typed 40-50 years were rediscovered by Laurent Wiame and specialized journalists. Gene Fenn is responsible for recognition of copyright in France for photographers, illustrators and reporters. The last major exhibition of Gene Fenn was organized by the photographer Jo Duchene, owner in 1985 of D'Anvers Gallery in the 9th arrondissement in Paris. This for the Month of Photography in November 1986 and held in the premises of BRED Banque, boulevard des Capucines in Paris over 800 m 2. As documentation, we can consult the catalog of the Photography Month in November 1986, a report in Jours de France of the same period, and above the magazine Zoom number 131 of 1985, entitled cover: The margins of fashion, dedicated to five fashion photographers, cover with a photo of Gene Fenn (reproduction of a Kodachrome 20x25). La Galerie D'Anvers had also exposed black and white vintage prints, devoted to artists and writers from Hollywood to the same date of November 1986. The exhibition of BRED, was able to show the public the paintings of Gene Fenn, including a remarkable large canvas of a painted stage curtain for Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, and a series of photos, taken by the gallery, the workshop Man Ray. Light boxes 20x25 Kodachrome slides were also exposed. Gene Fenn regular contributor to the French edition of the International Herald tribune, and was considered an artist photographer (he really was) as saying. William Edmondson (Born Nashville, TN 1874-died Nashville, TN 1951), was the first African-American folk art sculptor to be given a one-person show exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (1937). Edmondson was born sometime in December 1874 on the Compton Plantation in Davidson County, Tennessee. He did not know the date of his birth because of a fire that destroyed the family Bible. Edmondson was one of six children born to Orange and Jane Edmondson who had been previously enslaved before they worked as sharecroppers. Due to privilege regarding race and color, "mulattoes" on the plantation were given more respectable jobs where as the Edmonson's mainly worked in the corn fields and handled livestock. The Edmondson family worked on the plantation and earned 12 dollars a month. During these times in the corn fields he would see - angels in the clouds and believed it was God talking to him. Edmondson had little or no formal education. When his father died in late 1889, 16-year-old Edmondson refused to continue to work tirelessly on the plantation and relocated to Nashville. He got a good job working at the expansive new Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad shops. After an injury sustained at the Railway shops in 1907, Edmondson took a job as a custodian at the Nashville Women's Hospital, where he worked until the hospital closed in 1931. During this time, the Edmondson family officially resided in Nashville as his mother, Jane, was the last to leave the Compton Plantation. By age 39, his wages at Women's Hospital allowed him to buy a modest home and spacious lot in Edgehill, a segregated neighborhood in Nashville's Vanderbilt-Belmont area. Edmondson never married and he shared the home with his mother and sister, as well as, occasionally, other siblings, nieces, and nephews. With Jane's death in 1922, Edmonson's sister, Sarah, soon became the woman of the house. It was said she would often hold family barbecues that featured laughter and storytelling. When the hospital closed in 1931, Edmondson picked up work at various part-time jobs and in his leisure, he sculpted in his backyward and sold vegetables. In 1948 Edmondson stopped sculpting. On February 7, 1951, at age seventy-six, he died quietly in his home in Nashville, Tennessee, where illness had confined him to bed for several months. As he was the last of his siblings to pass, his five nieces and seven nephews carried out his funeral service which was held the next day. Edmondson was buried in Mount Ararat Cemetery, now Greenwood Cemetery (Nashville, Tennessee), Nashville's oldest black cemetery. Today there is no sign of Edmondson's grave marker because at the time cheap wooden caskets were used to bury African Americans. As the wood decayed it would cause the grave markers to sink into the earth. Mt. Ararat burial records of the period were lost in a fire, so his exact grave site is unknown. Art Career - Edmondson entered the world of sculpture at the advanced age of about 60 years old in 1934. He reported that he received a vision from God, who told him to start sculpting. I was out in the driveway with some old sculptures of stone when I heard a voice telling me to pick up my tools and start to work on a tombstone. I looked up in the sky and right there in the noon daylight, he hung a tombstone out for me to make. I knowed it was God telling me what to do. He carved tombstones primarily from chunks of discarded limestone from demolished buildings, which were delivered to him by wrecking companies' trucks. A signature Edmondson tombstone reflects strong large lettering carved iin the stone. He began his career by working on these tombstones, which he sold or gave to friends and family in the community. Soon he began carving lawn ornaments, birdbaths, and decorative sculptures. In his yard hung a sign Tomb-Stones. For Sale. Garden. Ornaments. Stone Work W M Edmondson.] Edmondson's work was influenced by his Christian faith and his membership in a nearby Primitive Baptist congregation. His sculptures are straightforward and emphatic forms ranging from one to three feet in height, many sharing his unique religious symbolism. He carved figures of biblical characters, angels, doves, turtles, eagles, rabbits, horses and other real and fanciful creatures. His sculpture Noah's Ark stood tall in the middle of his backyard. It consists for four differently carved tiers of limestone and is the only architectural work that existed in his collection. He carved local community icons such as preachers, lawyers and school teachers, celebrities of the day who were important to the African American community, such as prizefighter Jack Johnson. He also sculpted a number of popular figures such as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Edmondson also created a small number of nude figures. Most of Edmonson's carved figures have faces carved on a spherical base, with a small mouth resting directly under a vertical nose, following to connect to the curve of the brow. Sometimes he would decide not to carve the eyebrows and would opt to make the nose broader. It is believed he did this to achieve racial inclusion within his collection of artwork. Even with the versatility of his artwork, the common characteristic of an Edmondson sculpture was the overbuilt-ness of the figures carved within or from the limestone. Intentional texturing ranging between smooth, chiseled, polished or rough was present throughout each sculpture. The facial technique, overbuilt-ness, and range in texturing can be observed in Edmonson's most well-known masterpiece Bess and Joe and further with Mary and Martha. Edmondson had a large audience in Edgehill as many of his figures were on display not only in his yard, but in that of neighbors' homes and gardens. A few years into Edmondson's sculpting career, Peabody College art enthusiast Sidney Hirsch wandered through Edgehill and came upon Edmondson's vast sculpture collection. This is widely documented as Edmondson's discovery by Sidney Mttron Hirsch. Hirsch himself was a collector of African, Middle Eastern, and East Asian art and became one of Edmondson's greatest supporters. With this exposure, friends of Hirsch's and other fellow members of Nashville's elite bought Edmondson's sculptures for their homes, gardens, and offices, many of which were later displayed in exhibits at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art. Of Hirsch's friends, Alfred and Elizabeth Starr, Alfred, a managing partner of a chain of movie theaters catering to the black community, and his wife Elizabeth, a painter, also became enthusiastic patrons and supporters of Edmondson's work. They introduced Edmondson to several artist friends, including Starr's boyhood friend Meyer (Mike) Wolfe and his wife Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Dahl-Wolfe was a photographer who had recently begun work for Harper's Bazaar fashion magazine in New York. She made over a hundred photographs of Edmondson's at work in his backyard shop, which she presented to the editor of Harper's Bazaar. She attempted to publish his work but newspaper chain mogul William Randolph Hearst had a prejudice against showing Negro art as he saw them as nothing other than servants. She then brought Edmondson's work to the attention of fellow Tennessean Thomas Mabry and his boss Alfred Barr, the director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Edmondson's career lasted for about fifteen years. His work never commanded large sums during his lifetime. In 1939 and again in 1941, he worked under the Works Progress Administration, a government-sponsored relief program that included artists. In the late 1940s, his health began to fail and his artistic production slowed. Edmondson professed to be uninterested in fame, and he appears to have struggled financially during the final years of his life. He is believed to have created about 300 works during his working lifetime. Exhibitions - Edmondson was given a one-man show, the first by an African American artist, at the Museum of Modern Art from October 20 to December 1, 1937. In 1938, through MoMA's influence, William Edmondson's sculpture was included in the Three Centuries of Art in the United States in Paris. Interest in his work on the national and international stage was short-lived, and he was viewed primarily as a novelty, or exemplar of the primitive race-memory of an untutored, naive old Negro stone carver. Locally, Alfred Starr continued to promote Edmondson's work to his artistic friends and acquaintances, who bought work directly from Edmondson's sculpture yard or through the local Lyzon Gallery. Starr introduced the famed modernist photographer Edward Weston to Edmondson in 1941, and Weston made several striking photographs of Edmondson at work in his shop and yard. Also in 1941, he received the only other solo show accorded during his lifetime, at the Nashville Art Gallery. After very sporadic exhibition through the 1950s and 1960s (mostly as part of folk art exhibits), collector Edmund Fuller wrote a biography of Edmondson which was published in 1973. His sculpture was included in the influential Two Centuries of Black American Art" exhibition curated by Fisk University Art Department chairman David Driskell in 1976. In 1981 the new Tennessee State Museum opened with a permanent solo exhibition with six of Edmondson's sculptures featuring loaned sculptures from Elizabeth Starr's personal collection, and the essays in the accompanying catalog sought to elevate appreciation of Edmondson's work as fine art. Through the 1980s and 1990s Edmondson's sculptures were exhibited extensively, though often in the limiting context of the labels outsider, folk art, self-taught, and naive. In 1999, Nashville's Cheekwood Museum of Art mounted a major traveling retrospective exhibition and catalog that included in-depth biographical and critical essays on his life and work. This exhibit included donated sculptures from the personal collections of the Fletcher, Formosa, and Overton families. A 2006 exhibition, William Edmondson, Bill Traylor, and the Modernist Impulse, paired Edmondson with another well-known self-taught artist and argued for Edmondson's acceptance as an artist without limiting labels. This exhibit displayed twenty-one of Edmondson's sculptures which is the largest collection of Edmondson's art in the country. In 2016 the Smithsonian American Art Museum received one of its largest gifts of folk art work from Margaret Z. Robson, among them were three of Edmondson's sculptures. Edmondson's art is displayed permanently at the Newark Museum of Art, American Folk Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Montclair Museum in New Jersey. Legacy - On August 20, 2014, Mayor Karl Dean opened Nashville's first arts park, named in Edmondson's honor. The park, managed by the Nashville Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, includes sculptures by Thornton Dial and Lonnie Holley inspired by the work of William Edmondson. The park is located in a traditionally African-American neighborhood. Even though the site of Edmondson's house at 1434 Fourteenth Avenue South is now a public school, it has been officially recognized with a Tennessee historical marker. About a few miles away, some of Edmondson's tombstones are on display at a local cemetery. Since his death, Edmondson's work has gradually come to be highly appreciated by critics and collectors, and his sculptures garner up to $70,000-$300,000 at auction. In January 2016, A Boxer sold at a private auction for $785,000 the highest price ever paid for an Edmondson work.
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) carved limestone sculpture or garden ornament in the form of a large dipper or cup of rectangular form, angled at the lower edges, with a trapezoidal handle, open in the center. The side opposite the handle features a shallow, molded, angular lip that echoes the lines of the body and handle. 20"W x 12"D x 7" H. Exhibited, "William Edmondson: A Retrospective," The Tennessee State Museum, 1981. The dipper is accompanied by a minimally hewn flat rectangular limestone base, measuring 4" H x 14 1/2" W x 13" D, acquired by the consignors' parents along with the sculpture directly from William Edmondson's yard in 1951. Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as a chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17-year art career. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. Provenance Note: Dr. Virgil and Louise Lequire were influential members of Nashville's arts community. Louise Lequire (1924-2006), a talented painter in her own right, was a founding member of the Nashville Artist Guild and taught art at Montgomery Bell Academy and the Nashville Institute for the Arts. She was the first art critic for the Nashville Banner newspaper and a regular art columnist from 1960-1961, and Arts Editor for Nashville Life Magazine from 1993-1996. Her article on William Edmondson appeared in Smithsonian Magazine in 1981 and she was a contributor to the catalog for the Edmondson exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum that same year. Her photograph of this sculpture in her own garden (minus the base), taken at an unknown date, appears in black and white near the end of our sequence of photographs for this auction catalog.
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) limestone "Critter" sculpture depicting a small animal sitting upright on its hind legs, with front feet cast downward, atop a rectangular integral base. 12 3/8" H x 5" W x 7 3/4" D. Provenance: Private Southern collection. Note: This "Critter" is stylistically similar to 2 sculptures sold by Case Antiques in 2011, Lot #190 and in 2020, Lot #153. While this form is most similar to the example sold in 2020 in the sculpting of the ears and the slope of the neck, this example has an elongated oval head more similar to the form sold in 2011. Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM.
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) limestone "Critter" sculpture of a small animal sitting upright on its hind legs, with front legs and feet cast downward, atop a rectangular integral base. 12 1/4" H x 4 1/2" W x 8 1/4" D. Note: This example is stylistically similar to a sculpture sold by Case Antiques in 2011, Lot #190. Provenance: the estate of Leah Levitt, Long Island, New York. While it is unknown exactly when or where Mrs. Levitt and her late husband, David Levitt, acquired this sculpture and the Edmondson "Lady with a Book" sculpture in the preceding lot, both have been in their collection for decades. (The "Lady with a Book" can be seen in the background of several of the Levitt family's photographs taken in the late 1950s). It is possible Mr. Levitt became familiar with Edmondson, or at least with Edmondson's work, during the 1940s when in preparation for his work in the Armed Services, he (Levitt) attended French Language training at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. By that time, William Edmondson was well known in his hometown of Nashville and beyond, having become the first African American artist to receive a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1937. Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life in Nashville as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as a chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17-year art career. In the 1930s, his work caught the attention of Professor Sidney Hirsch, who worked at Peabody College in Nashville, located just a few blocks from where Edmondson lived (and adjacent to the Vanderbilt campus). Professor Hirsch is credited with introducing Edmondson to well-connected arts patrons Alfred and Elizabeth Starr and Harper's Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe's now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art, resulting in the landmark 1937 exhibit. Although Edmondson's earliest work was more utilitarian in nature, such as tombstones and birdbaths, as his style matured his subject matter grew to include female figures (frequently based on women he knew from his community), Biblical figures, and various animals. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM.
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) "Lady with a Book," carved limestone sculpture depicting a standing woman with short curly hair wearing a dress with bustle, holding a book in her left hand, her right arm bent upward at her waist. 12" H x 3 1/2" W x 7" D. Provenance: the estate of Leah Levitt, Long Island, New York. While it is unknown exactly when or where Mrs. Levitt and her late husband, David Levitt, acquired this sculpture and the Edmondson "Critter' sculpture in the following lot (#153), both have been in their collection for decades. (The "Lady with a Book" can be seen in the background of several of the Levitt family's photographs taken in the late 1950s-early 1960s). It is possible Mr. Levitt became familiar with Edmondson, or at least with Edmondson's work, in the 1940s when in preparation for his work in the Armed Services, he (Levitt) attended French Language training at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. By that time, William Edmondson was well known in his hometown of Nashville and beyond, having become the first African American artist to receive a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1937. Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life in Nashville as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as a chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17-year art career. In the 1930s, his work caught the attention of Professor Sidney Hirsch, who worked at Peabody College in Nashville, located just a few blocks from where Edmondson lived (and adjacent to the Vanderbilt campus). Professor Hirsch is credited with introducing Edmondson to well-connected arts patrons Alfred and Elizabeth Starr and Harper's Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe's now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art, resulting in the landmark 1937 exhibit. Although Edmondson's earliest work was more utilitarian in nature, such as tombstones and birdbaths, as his style matured his subject matter grew to include female figures (frequently based on women he knew from his community), Biblical figures, and various animals. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM.
William Edmondson 1874 - 1951 Owl Carved limestone sculpture 1930s Unsigned Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hagler, Ypsilanti, Michigan Private Collection Dr. Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke, Maryland Exhibited: Building on Tradition, The Collection of Dr. Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke, Hampton University Museum, October 12, 2013-December 7, 2013. Literature: International Review of African American Art , Vol. 24, 3B, Hampton University, VA, p. 17. 23-1/2 x 11 x 7 inches
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) carved limestone sculpture, "The Preacher", depicting a minister with his left arm raised with a Bible in hand, open eyes and mouth, and attired in a long-tailed coat and bow tie, standing on a pedestal. 23 1/2" H x 12 1/2" W x 8 1/4" D. This sculpture appears in an Edward Weston photograph of Edmondson's yard taken in 1941. Ref. Edmund Fuller, "Visions in Stone," p. 11. Illustrated, ibid, p. 36. Exhibited 1981, the Tennessee State Museum inaugural exhibit titled "William Edmondson: A Retrospective" and featured in the exhibition catalog of the same name on page 38, catalog entry #8. Also exhibited at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, "The Art of Tennessee", 2006 (and full page illustration in the catalog, p. 281). Edmondson's choice of a preacher as subject matter speaks to the prominence of the church not only in black communities in the early 20th century, and the role of the preacher as a community leader, but also to the importance of spirituality in his own life. It was a directive from God at the age of 57 which Edmondson (a former janitor and railroad worker with no formal art training) said prompted him to pick up a chisel and begin sculpting limestone figures. His work was noticed by Nashville art patrons who introduced him to Harper's Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe's now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1937 Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art. At least three other Preacher figures by Edmondson are known, including one in the collection of the Newark Museum and another in the collection of the McClung Museum of Art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Provenance: Private Southern Collection, acquired circa 1990 from the son of Myron King, owner of Nashville's Lyzon Art Gallery and one of Edmondson's earliest supporters. A notarized certificate of authenticity dated 2002, signed by Myron King Sr. and stating he purchased this sculpture directly from William Edmondson in about 1948 and gifted it to his son, will be provided to the winning bidder. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM.
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) carved limestone sculpture of a rabbit with raised paws, sitting on its hind legs, atop a rectangular integral base. 16 5/8" H x 5" W x 7 1/2" D. Rabbits were popular subject matter for Edmondson. A very similar rabbit is visible in the background of a photograph of Edmondson's yard taken in 1941 by photographer Edward Weston (ref. Edmund L. Fuller, "Visions In Stone: the Sculpture of William Edmondson", University of Pittsburgh Press, 1973, pages 7 and 9), and six rabbits were exhibited in the William Edmondson retrospective exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum in 1981 (ref. exhibit catalog, p. 64, for an example closely related to this one). Provenance: Private Pennsylvania Collection. Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. (Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com.)
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951), "Miss Amy," companion sculpture to "Miss Lucy," sold in our January 2019 auction (lot #110). Carved limestone sculpture depicting a standing woman wearing a dress with square neckline; her bountiful hair is tied back, creating negative space between her back and her hair, and she holds a book in her left hand; her long skirt reaches all the way to the integral base. 14 1/2" H x 4 3/4" W x 7 3/8" D. Circa 1930/1935. Exhibited, "Will Edmondson's Mirkels" at the Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood (April 12 through May 21, 1964), and listed as #5 in the catalog, published by Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Additionally exhibited in "The Art of William Edmondson" at the Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood's exhibit, January 28 - April 23, 2000 (which traveled to four other museums including the Museum of American Folk Art in New York and the High Museum in Atlanta); listed in the exhibition catalog "The Art of William Edmondson" on page 136, figure #23. Provenance: The estate of Janet Marsh Pruitt (Mrs. Earl Pruitt) of Pennsylvania, formerly of Nashville, Tennessee. By descent from her parents, Ross and Anna Marsh. Mrs. Marsh acquired this sculpture along with "Miss Lucy" from a member of the Art Department, likely Professor Sidney Hirsch, while working for Peabody College in Nashville, just a few blocks from where Edmondson lived. Professor Hirsch (who frequently walked past Edmondson's house) is credited with introducing Edmondson to well-connected arts patrons Alfred and Elizabeth Starr and Harper's Bazaar photographer, Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe's now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art. Unlike many Edmondson figures acquired by Nashvillians in the days before Edmondson gained international fame, "Miss Amy" and "Miss Lucy" were not kept outside as garden sculptures. Mrs. Marsh told her family the limestone figures were always used inside as doorstops (which has helped the sculptures avoid surface bleaching and erosion). According to the 1964 "Mirkels" exhibit catalog, which quoted the Marshes, "Miss Amy" was a good member of Edmondson's Nashville Primitive Baptist church who had been "uplifted to heaven." Artist's Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. Women, Biblical figures and animals were among his favored subjects, although he also produced more utilitarian items such as tombstones and birdbaths. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. CONDITION: Overall very good condition. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASEANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM. (Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com.)
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951), "Miss Lucy," carved limestone sculpture depicting a standing woman, wearing a high collared dress and a carved locket, with long elaborately braided hair, holding a purse in one hand and a book, presumably The Bible, in the other. 15 1/2" H x 4 3/4" W x 8" D. 28.4 lbs, Circa 1930/1935. Exhibited, "Will Edmondson's Mirkels," the Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood (April 12 through May 21, 1964), and listed as #6 in the catalog, published by Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Artist's Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. Women, Biblical figures and animals were among his favored subjects, although he also produced more utilitarian items such as tombstones and birdbaths. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. Provenance: The estate of Janet Marsh Pruitt (Mrs. Earl Pruitt) of Pennsylvania, formerly of Nashville, Tennessee. By descent from her parents, Ross and Anna Marsh. Mrs. Marsh acquired the sculpture from a member of the Art Department - likely Professor Sidney Hirsch- while working for Peabody College in Nashville, just a few blocks from where Edmondson lived. Professor Hirsch (who frequently walked past Edmondson's house) is credited with introducing Edmondson to well-connected arts patrons Alfred and Elizabeth Starr and Harper's Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe's now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art. Unlike many Edmondson figures acquired by Nashvillians in the days before Edmondson gained international fame, "Miss Lucy" was not kept outside as garden sculpture. Mrs. Marsh told her family the limestone figure was always used inside as a doorstop (which has helped the sculpture avoid surface bleaching and erosion). According to the exhibit catalog, which quoted the Marshes, "Miss Lucy" was a good member of Edmondson's Nashville Primitive Baptist church who had been "uplifted to heaven." PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASEANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM. (Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com.)
in the manner of WILLIAM EDMONDSON (American 1874-1951) AN OUTSIDER/FOLK ART SCULPTURE OF A WOMAN, hand chiseled limestone, resembling an ancient Kore form. Height: 36" Width: 17 1/2" Depth: 8 1/4"
William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951), "The Nursing Supervisor," carved limestone sculpture depicting a woman with long hair, long skirt and apron in a standing position, one arm folded slightly above the other. 13 1/2"H x 5" W x 8 1/2" D. Separate, later base 1 3/4" H x 7 1/2" W x 8 1/2" D. Circa 1940. Sculpture (without base) exhibited and illustrated in Miracles: The Sculptures of William Edmondson, Janet Fleisher Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 1995. Plate #20, page 45 (note: reverse image was used in catalog photo). Also exhibited William Edmondson: A Retrospective, Tennessee State Museum, 1981 (refer to catalog, p. 53, #31). Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. Women, Biblical figures and animals were among his favored subjects, although he also produced more utilitarian items such as tombstones and birdbaths. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American to receive a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. He is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. Provenance: The living estate of Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, TN. (Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com)
WILLIAM EDMONDSON (1874-1951) Lion, circa 1937 together with a photographic contact sheet depicting Edmondson with Lion limestone and mortar Lion 22 in. high, 37 1/2 in. long, 7 in. wide; the contact sheet 7 1/2 x 9¬ in. (2)
William Edmondson (USA, c. 1884-1951) limestone bird bath sculpture. Size: 13" x 29.5" x 16.5". Provenance: purchased directly from the artist during the 1940s by the consignor's parents, Howard Chandler Jordon and Whitley Jarman Jordon Potter, friends and patrons of Edmondson. An affidavit certifying provenance, signed by the consignor, accompanies this lot.
William Edmondson (USA, c. 1884-1951) limestone bird bath sculpture. Size: 13" x 29.5" x 16.5". Provenance: purchased directly from the artist during the 1940s by the consignor's parents, Howard Chandler Jordon and Whitley Jarman Jordon Potter, friends and patrons of Edmondson. An affidavit certifying provenance, signed by the consignor, accompanies this lot.
WILLIAM EDMONDSON (1874 - 1951) Squirrel. Stone, circa 1940. Approximately 476x330x127 mm; 18 3/4x13x5 inches. Provenance: purchased directly from the artist by the owner's late grandmother, Nashville, circa 1940-45; thence by descent to the current owner. The original owners of this squirrel had a pair that guarded the front entrance of their Nashville home in the late 1940s. This squirrel is a striking work by this important self-taught sculptor, and an excellent example of the remarkable animals and figures he carved out of stone. A native of Nashville and the son of former slaves, William Edmondson opened a yard to carve tombstones from mostly reclaimed limestone curbstones in the early 1930s. He first carved memorial figures of lambs and doves and then more expressive preachers, angels, rams, horses, lions, and other animals. Within the dimensions of the curbstone, Edmondson was able to simplify the forms of animals and figures to convey great power and character. He was "discovered" in 1934-35 by Sidney Hirsch of Vanderbilt University, and in 1936, his friends brought the photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe to visit and shoot Edmondson at work. He was then brought to the attention of Alfred H. Barr, Jr., and Edmondson became the first African-American artist to be given a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1937. The Cheekwood Museum of Art in Nashville, with the largest collection of Edmondson sculpture, organized a retrospective exhibition, which traveled nationally in 2000-2001. Bearden/Henderson pp. 349-352.
Birdbath limestone 281/2 x 28 x 13 in. (72.5 x 71 x 33 cm.) Executed circa 1940. PROVENANCE Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York LITERATURE F. Maresca and R. Ricco, American Vernacular: New Discoveries in Folk, Self-Taught, and Outsider Sculpture, Boston, 2002, p. 214 (illustrated in color). EXHIBITION Philadelphia, Janet Fleisher Gallery, Miracles: The Sculptures of William Edmondson, 1995, p. 35, pl. 11 (illustrated in color). NOTES Above the shed in which William Edmondson worked hung a sign that read "Tombstones For Sale/Garden Ornaments Stone Work Wm. Edmondson" and indeed, the aesthetic lines between these different ornamental and functional forms were often blurred. Edmondson's Birdbath c. 1940 consists of three pieces and is stacked very much like his multi-unit tombstones consisting of a base stone, a vertical element and a horizontal basin, and like his tombstones, no mortar was used in its construction. Here, Edmondson combines simple geometric forms in a functional object, yet the end result is a powerful and stark modernist sculpture. SALESROOM NOTICE The artist's correct birth and death dates are circa 1870-1951.
Noah's Ark limestone 221/4 x 14 x 161/4 in. (56.5 x 37.5 x 41.5 cm.) Executed circa 1930. PROVENANCE Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York EXHIBITION Nashville, Tennessee, Tennessee State Museum, William Edmondson: A Retrospective, 1981, p. 86, pl. 103 (illustrated). Washington, D.C., Corcoran Museum of Art, Black Folk Art, 1930-1980, (traveling show) 1983-1984, p. 90, cat. no. 113 (illustrated). New Orleans Museum of Art, Passionate Visions of the American South: Self-Taught Artists from 1940 to the Present, (traveling show) October 1993-January 1994, p. 153, pl. 72 (illustrated in color). Philadelphia Museum of Art, Self-Taught Artists of the 20th Century: An American Anthology, (traveling show) March 1998-December 1999, p. 64 (illustrated in color). New York, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, Masterpieces From the Robert M. Greenberg Collection, January-March 1999, p. 82 (illustrated in color). Nashville, Cheekwood Museum of Art, The Art of William Edmondson, (traveling show) January 2000-August 2001, p. 110, fig. 10. NOTES The simple, abstracted form of William Edmondson's Noah's Ark, pared down to its purest, volumetric essence is one the great sculptural masterpieces of 20th Century art, as well as Self-Taught art. Although titled Noah's Ark, the present lot has also been interpreted as a church or a reference to the Ark of the Covenant. Its importance to Edmondson is underscored by its original placement in the center of his backyard on top of a group of large stone slabs (see fig. 1). Louise Dahl-Wolfe's powerful photograph of Edmondson, sitting underneath Noah's Ark conveys the serene dignity and presence of both the sculpture and the artist. A stone carver active in Nashville, Tennessee during the Great Depression, William Edmondson was discovered by the Dahl-Wolfe who showed his work to Museum of Modern Art director Alfred Barr. The subsequent solo exhibition in 1937 was the first by a Self-Taught or Outsider artist, and the first of an African-American at MoMA. Noah's Ark is one of the rare works that speaks across cultures, aesthetic sensibilities and is equally at home in the context of 19th Century folk art, 20th Century Self-Taught art as well as modernist and contemporary sculpture. Its purity has echoes in Amish quilts and Shaker furniture objects as well as the modernist sculpture of Brancusi and 1960's Minimalism. Widely exhibited, it has been included in three influential surveys of Self-Taught art and featured in two Edmondson shows, including his most recent traveling retrospective. Deeply religious, Edmondson often claimed God was working through his hand--"I saw Him through the eye of faith and heard His voice through the spiritual ear until the heart understood" (W. Edmondson, The Art of William Edmondson, Nashville, 1999, p. 62). SALESROOM NOTICE The artist's correct birth and death dates are circa 1870-1951.
