William Edmondson : a monumental vision / edited by James Claiborne and Nancy Ireson ; with contributions by Brendan Fernandes, Leslie King Hammond, Christina Knight, and Kelli Morgan.

Philadelphia : The Barnes Foundation, 2023.

New Haven ; London : Yale University Press

©2023

151 pages : colorillustrations ; 30 cm

Published in the occasion of the exhibition of the same title, held at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, June 25-September 10, 2023.

"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."--Distributor's website.

English

July 27, 2023

Includes bibliographical references (pages 146-147) and index.