Skip to product information
1 of 1

Wiley

William Edmondson

William Edmondson

Regular price $74.66 AUD
Regular price $82.95 AUD Sale price $74.66 AUD
Sale Sold out
Quantity

Dispatch and delivery

A reassessment of self-taught artist William Edmondson, exploring the enduring relevance of his work

This richly illustrated volume reintroduces readers to American sculptor William Edmondson (1874–1951) more than 80 years after his historic solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Edmondson began carving at the onset of the Depression in Tennessee. Initially creating tombstones for his community, over time he expanded his practice to include biblical subjects, the natural world, and recognizable figures including nurses and preachers. This book features new essays that explore Edmondson’s life in the South and his reception on the East Coast in the 1930s. Reading the artist through lenses of African American experience, the authors draw parallels between then and now, highlighting the complex relationship between Black cultural production and the American museum. Countering existing narratives that have viewed Edmondson as a passive actor in an unfolding drama—a self-taught sculptor “discovered” by White patrons and institutions—this book considers how the artist’s identity and position within history influenced his life and work.

Distributed for the Barnes Foundation 


Exhibition Schedule:

The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
(June 25–September 10, 2023)

Authors: James Claiborne, Nancy Ireson, Brendan Fernandes, Leslie King Hammond, Christina Knight, Kelli Morgan

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 9780300269840

Publication date: 20230929

View full details