Seated Man with Pipe

Copied Unidentified, Seated Man with Pipe, ca. 1900, carved spruce with iron screws and traces of paint and stain, 12 344 128 38 in. (32.411.521.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.324
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Artwork Details

Title
Seated Man with Pipe
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1900
Dimensions
12 344 128 38 in. (32.411.521.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
carved spruce with iron screws and traces of paint and stain
Classifications
Keywords
  • Recreation — leisure — smoking
  • Figure male — full length
  • Object — furniture — chair
Object Number
1986.65.324

Artwork Description

Early-twentieth-century wood-carvers often made toy figures with movable parts to amuse their children. The Fiddler’s arms and legs can be moved to suggest that he is playing the violin and dancing; in Seated Man with Pipe the figure’s left arm can move up and down to simulate the gesture of smoking. In both sculptures the artists paid more attention to animating the figures than they did to detail or color.