Artist Sulton Rogers (1922 - 2003)

Man with Twisted Grin

Date1991

DimensionsOverall: 30 × 8 1/2 × 11 in. (76.2 × 21.6 × 27.9 cm)

Object numberN0001.1992

Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Museum Purchase

Photograph by Richard Walker

Label TextAfrican-American folk artist Sulton Rogers (1922 – 2003) was taught to carve at an early age by his father, a skilled whittler. Originally from Mississippi, Rogers moved to Syracuse, NY in 1952, where he lived and worked for most for his life. He stopped carving for many years but resumed in 1970 to help stay awake during night shifts at a chemical plant. Roger’s small-scale expressive wood figures of humans and human-animal hybrids are often depicted with exaggerated facial features or strangely shaped bodies. Rogers’ source of inspiration was his dreams, which he called “futures.”

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