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Nashville , TN William Edmondson c. 1874-1951 Sculptures

Information: "William Edmondson, the son of freed slaves, was born around 1874 in Davidson County, Tennessee. He was one of six children. He grew up in Nashville and went to work at sixteen years of age as a manual laborer, railroad man, farm hand, fireman, and hospital janitor. He never did learn to read and write. It was in 1929 that he received a vision from God, who told him to take up the sculptor's tools and to work in His behalf." "Edmondson was said to declare, "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 daylight He hung a tombstone out for me to make. I knowed it was God telling me what to do."" "Morgan's colorful "sermons" appear mainly on paper, chronicling her personal visions of Biblical events. She outlined in pencil or ink and filled in with crayon, acrylic, watercolor, and tempera paint on whatever surface she had at hand. She made use of grocery store paper bags, cardboard, and canvas. She even painted on window shades and toilet paper rolls." "Edmondson salvaged rectangular chunks of native limestone from houses that had been demolished and curbs from city streets. He used a sledge hammer and fabricated crude chisels from railroad spikes. His first carvings, as an apprentice stonemason, were tombstones for the black community." ""I knowed it was God telling me to cut figures... first to make tombstones... then figures. He gave me them two things. The Almighty talked to me like a natural man... He talked so loud He woke me up. It's wonderful. When God gives you something you've got it for good, and yet you ain't got it. You got to do it and work for it... The Lord just say, 'Will, cut that stone... and it better be limestone, too...'"" "Surely at that time Edmondson never imagined that in 1937 he would become the first black artist to have a one-man show at New York's Museum of Modern Art, or that his work would be collected by museums or that one of his large stone carvings might eventually sell for in excess of $200,000." "Edmondson was a member of the United Primitive Baptist Church, a fundamentalist group that also influenced his work. His carvings of angels, Biblical characters, and animals like doves and rams that appear in religious contexts were strong and deceptively simple works that were God-inspired. Yet he also was a keen observer of nature and culture. In addition to imaginary "varmints" and "critters," he sculpted American eagles and the blocky Dorset sheep with curlicued horns that were then indigenous figures like Eleanor Roosevelt and the black prize fighter Jack Johnson." "As a carver of grave markers, Edmondson was undoubtedly aware of the elaborate and sentimental Victorian funeral statuary of the day. His forms melded the gap between gravestone and sculpture. Following traditional tombstone construction, each section was set into a slot on the piece upon which it rested. These sections were dry set, without mortar. For larger pieces and birdbaths, he often stacked a tablet onto a base, then topped it with one or two capping slabs, which in turn supported the ornament he placed above it." "Though a plain and untutored man who sold the carvings and vegetables he grew from his house on Fourteenth Avenue in South Nashville, Edmondson was very sophisticated in the way he expressed himself. Even with awkward tools, he created delicate nuances of textured and streamlined shapes that render his sculpture both primitive and modernist. Because of the material Edmondson worked with, abstraction became a necessity, but his spare and skillful carving suggests tremendous detail - in the staring pupils, a wooly coat, the mounds of hair, a defiant stance, a purposefully clutched pocketbook, the drape of a dress. His figures seem to emerge from, but remain within, their limestone envelopes." "Edmondson was to have disclaimed, "I is just doing the Lord's work. I didn't know I was no artist 'til them folks told me I was." But his art, like that of any true artist, is both timeless and enduring." Considered one of "50 Classic Outsiders", Raw Vision Sourcebook, 2002" Exerpted text and all images are from Outsider Art of the South by Kathy Moses

	Reference / Links:
	American Monument The Newark Museum Slotin Folk Art The Outsider’s Art Outsider Folk Art
	(Detour Art is not responsible for the content of external web sites.)

Bibliography: Museums Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, VA Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL Cheekwood Museum of Art, Nashville, TN Fenimore House Museum, Cooperstown, NY High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC Milwaukee Museum of Art, Milwaukee, WI New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA Newark Museum, Newark, NJ Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC References "The Art of William Edmondson", exhibit catalog, 1999. "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980" by Jane Livingston and John Beardsley, published for the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1982. "American Monument", by N. F. Karlins "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses (Schiffer Publishing, 1999) "Contemporary American Folk Art - A Collector's Guide" Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, 1996. "Folk Art", Vol 20, No 1, 1995; Vol 25, No 1 2000 "Pictured in My Mind" exhibit catalog, 1995. "Self Taught Artists of the 20th Century" exhibit catalog, 1998. "20th Century American Folk, Self Taught, and Outsider Art" by Betty-Carol Sellen, Cynthia J. Johnson, Neal-Schuman Publishers, New York, 1993. "Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art—A guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources" by Betty-Carol Sellen with Cynthia J. Johnson, 2000. "American Self-Taught Art: An Illustrated Analysis of 20th Century Artists and Trends with 1,319 Capsule Biographies" by Florence Laffal and Julius Laffal, 2003. "Souls Grown Deep: African American vernacular Art of the South", Vol 1, Arnett, et al, 1995. "50 Classic Outsiders", Raw Vision Sourcebook, 2002" Slotin Folk Art Auction Catalog, Masterpiece Sale, November 4, 2006 "The Intuitive Eye, The Mendelsohn Collection" by Ricco/Maresca Gallery, 2000.

Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

William Edmondson Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

School Teacher Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

Triple Doves Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

Little Lady Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

Ram Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

School Teacher Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

Duck Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

Angel Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

Ram Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

Double Doves Credit: "Outsider Art of the South" by Kathy Moses

Carved Birdbath c. 1935 Limestone. 36 h x 12.75 base width x 19 bowl diameter Est. $30,000 - $40,000 Buyer Responsible for Shipping. This lot includes an impressive notebook of letters & appraisals by leading authorities & documents supporting the attribution of William Edmonson as the carver. One of the most significant documents is a letter from Michael Hall, expert in American art. Hall states that, “it is very probable that the carver of the birdbath was William Edmonson of Nashville, TN.” Hall concluded that this sculpture was crafted by Edmonson because of the strong oral provenance provided by original owner. Also included is a hand written letter by Louise Harris whose grandparents, Mr. & Mrs. Woods, purchased this birdbath prior to WWII. The birdbath was on the family property since it was originally purchased until it was sold to Williams Galleries in ‘04. Hall mentions that, “the fact that the piece was discovered in the yard of the home of an African American Woman living near the neighborhood where Edmonson once lived is a strong indicator.” He also noted that almost all the birdbaths came from the yards near Edmonson’s home. In fact, “white collectors typically purchased figures & animals but the black neighbors clearly admired and sought out his non-figurative yard ornaments,” sites Hall. The birdbaths actually consist of three elements assembled in the same pattern...Hall points out that the base and basin of this birdbath most likely had a “previous life” as part of an architectural element of a stone building. This practice was quite common for Edmonson who often “appropriated & recycled architectural discards for his work and then made them his own by modifying them to fit his vision.” Hall remarks that although the point marks & shaping of both speak of Edmonson’s hand, it is the central column where “beyond any question, we see the hand of Edmondson.” Credit: Slotin Folk Art

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