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Exhibition History"Exhibition of Works by John Edmondson," Museum of Early American Folk Art, New York, NY, February 24, 1965 - April 4, 1965.
"Dimensions of Black," La Jolla Museum of Art, La Jolla, CA, February 14, 1970 - March 29, 1970.
“Folk Art Masters,” The Menello Museum of American Folk Art, Orlando, FL, September 19, 2001 – January 6, 2002.
Artist
William Edmondson
Three Birds
Date1932-1951
MediumLimestone
DimensionsOverall: 7 1/4 × 11 1/2 × 10 1/2 in., 21 lb. (18.4 × 29.2 × 26.7 cm, 9.5 kg)
Object numberN0114.1964
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Museum Purchase
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextThe child of freed slaves, Edmondson worked in a variety of menial jobs until—after a hospital closure caused him to lose his janitorial job of 23 years—he received a vision from the Lord to carve stone. Working in locally available limestone, Edmondson began to carve tombstones for members of his Church, and later moved on to more complex animals and human figures. Edmondson was a devout Baptist who believed that the Lord revealed the figural potential of each piece of stone to him. News of his powerful sculptures spread rapidly, and in 1937 Edmondson became the first African American artist to be honored by an individual show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.Exhibition History"Exhibition of Works by John Edmondson," Museum of Early American Folk Art, New York, NY, February 24, 1965 - April 4, 1965.
"Dimensions of Black," La Jolla Museum of Art, La Jolla, CA, February 14, 1970 - March 29, 1970.
“Folk Art Masters,” The Menello Museum of American Folk Art, Orlando, FL, September 19, 2001 – January 6, 2002.
On View
On view
Inuit
1900-1920
