Dog

O. L. "Geech" Samuels, Dog, 1995, carved and painted wood, glass, and glitter, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.84

O. L. "Geech" Samuels, Dog, 1995, carved and painted wood, glass, and glitter, 45 ¹⁄₂ x 39 x 10 in. (115.6 x 99.1 x 25.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.84

Artwork Details

Title: Dog
Artist: O. L. "Geech" Samuels
Date: 1995
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
Luce Foundation Center
/
3rd Floor
/
27B
Dimensions: 45 ¹⁄₂ x 39 x 10 in. (115.6 x 99.1 x 25.4 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums: paint
wood
glass
glitter
Mediums Description: carved and painted wood, glass, and glitter
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Animal — dog
Object Number: 1997.124.84
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.124.84

Artwork Description

Ossie Lee "Geech" Samuels believes that the shape of the wood determines what he carves. His surreal sculptures show a wide variety of subjects, including unicorns, real and fantastical animals, family members, black heroes, and futuristic automobiles. Although he is color-blind, Samuels paints his sculptures with an array of colors and a "secret mixture" of sawdust, glitter, and glue. (Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Contemporary American Folk Art: A Collector's Guide, 1996, and Betty-Carol Sellen, Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art, 2000)