Search Collections
Crucifixion
ca. 1932-1937
William Edmondson
Born: Nashville, Tennessee 1870
Died: Nashville, Tennessee 1951
limestone
18 1/8 x 11 x 6 1/8 in. (46.1 x 30.5 x 15.5 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Elizabeth Gibbons-Hanson
1981.141
Smithsonian American Art Museum
1st Floor,
West Wing
William Edmondson, a son of Tennessee slaves, worked as a field hand, railway worker, and janitor before responding to a vision in which God directed him to start carving. At first he made tombstones with discarded
limestone and chisels made from old railway spikes, then he began creating more figurative forms like Crucifixion. Its compact composition retains the form of the original block. With minimal detailing of the hands and face, this piece forcefully conveys Edmondson's creative power.
"Can’t nobody do these but me."
—William Edmondson
Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006
Keywords
Religion - New Testament - Christ
Religion - New Testament - Crucifixion
sculpture
folk art
stone - limestone
About William Edmondson
Born: Nashville, Tennessee 1870 Died: Nashville, Tennessee 1951
More works in the collection by
William Edmondson
Find Ask Joan of Art
on Twitter
Find Our Photos
on Flickr
Find Our Podcasts
on iTunes
Find Our Videos
on Art Babble