Object Details
- Artist
- Edgar Tolson, born Lee City, KY 1904-died Campton, KY 1984
- Luce Center Label
- Edgar Tolson was fifty-three when a stroke impaired the use of his hand. In early years, he had pursued woodcarving as a hobby, but it was not until the stroke forced him to sell his tobacco farm that he turned seriously to his craft. He began to carve as a form of physical therapy and to pass the time he could no longer spend farming. Over one thousand works are credited to this Kentucky carver. Tolson preferred to work with poplar and used paint sparingly to highlight specific details. In this sculpture of Uncle Sam, whose slender physique is thought to have resembled that of the artist, he painted the clothes and hair of the figure but left the natural wood grain to serve as skin.
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orren and Marilyn Bradley and Kohler Foundation, Inc.
- 1972
- Object number
- 2015.58.23
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Sculpture
- Folk Art
- Medium
- painted wood
- Dimensions
- 29 3/4 × 8 × 7 1/4 in. (75.6 × 20.3 × 18.4 cm)
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- On View
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 25A
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Topic
- Figure male\full length
- Dress\costume\Uncle Sam costume
- Record ID
- saam_2015.58.23
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk716f8943c-a9e6-4931-85a5-d8b70644b2bd
Related Content
