Untitled

Object Details

Artist

Hawkins Bolden, born Memphis, TN 1914-died Memphis, TN 2005

Gallery Label

Hawkins Bolden’s sculptures make a bold statement about confronting challenge with creativity. Human in scale, dotted with multiple “eyes,” raw, rusted, tattered, and soiled, they are both arresting and discomfiting.

Bolden was blinded in a childhood accident. He took to sculpting, creating a population of scarecrow-like sentinels to protect the family vegetable garden from the birds. He used cast-off forms salvaged from around the neighborhood—reinventing both the junked items and himself.

Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William Arnett

1987

Object number

1993.1.1

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Sculpture

Folk Art

Medium

galvanized iron, cotton, wood, wire, straw

Dimensions

38 x 17 1/2 x 44 in. (96.5 x 44.5 x 111.8 cm)

See more items in

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department

Painting and Sculpture

On View

Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1st Floor, West Wing

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Topic

Figure

Object\furniture\chair

Object\other\container

Record ID

saam_1993.1.1

Metadata Usage (text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7d2f7b460-b5e6-4cec-b982-83252dd352d0