William Edmondson

William Edmondson (1874-1951)

Self-taught sculptor Edmondson was born in Tennessee and began carving limestone after a religious epiphany at age 50. The first African American artist accorded a solo exhibition at MoMA (1937), Edmondson also exhibited in Three Centuries of American Art (MoMA, 1938) and worked for WPA/FAP (1939-41). His stylized sculptures of animals, buildings, and people were then lauded for their “primitive” qualities and photographed by Edward Weston; they are now praised for their elegant forms and simple integrity.

Important Source Material:

Thompson, Robert Farris et. al. The Art of William Edmondson. Nashville, TN: Cheekwood Museum of Art, 1999.

Lindsey, Jack et. al. Miracles: the sculptures of William Edmondson. Philadelphia: Janet Fleisher Gallery, 1994.

NHS