Your Life Is a Book and Every Day Is a Page

Elijah Pierce, Your Life Is a Book and Every Day Is a Page, 1973, carved and painted wood with glitter, 17 ³⁄₄ x 27 ¹⁄₈ x 1 ¹⁄₄ in. (45.1 x 68.9 x 3.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.261

Artwork Details

Title: Your Life Is a Book and Every Day Is a Page
Artist: Elijah Pierce
Date: 1973
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 17 ³⁄₄ x 27 ¹⁄₈ x 1 ¹⁄₄ in. (45.1 x 68.9 x 3.2 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums: paint
Mediums Description: carved and painted wood with glitter
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Religion — angel
Object — flower
Allegory — religion — salvation
African American
Figure group
Object Number: 1986.65.261
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.261

Artwork Description

Elijah Pierce believed we have to live our lives properly every single day in order to achieve salvation. He claimed to have many visions, and this carving shows one in which God said to him: "Elijah, your life is a book. And every day is a page . . . and one day that book will be read to you and you can't deny it because you’ve written it" (June Donmoyer, "Elijah Pierce: Woodcarver," Antique Review Preview, August 1985, and Judith Fradin, "Adapting to the New World," Footsteps, n.d.). Pierce carved an eye and an ear in the top corner of the panel to show that God is all-knowing, while the two angels in paradise represent God's reward for the faithful.