Untitled (Bird Bath with Figures)

Copied William Edmondson, Untitled (Bird Bath with Figures), ca. 1932-1940, carved limestone, 32 1⁄2 × 26 7⁄8 × 12 3⁄4 in. (82.6 × 68.3 × 32.4 cm) weight: 308 lb. (139.7 kg), Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.87A-C

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled (Bird Bath with Figures)
Artist
Date
ca. 1932-1940
Location
Dimensions
32 1⁄2 × 26 7⁄8 × 12 3⁄4 in. (82.6 × 68.3 × 32.4 cm) weight: 308 lb. (139.7 kg)
Credit Line
The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson
Mediums Description
carved limestone
Classifications
Highlights
Keywords
  • Figure female — full length
Object Number
2016.38.87A-C
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2016.38.87A-C

Artwork Description

Edmondson’s carved sculptures often reflect his deep spirituality. Birds and birdbaths were forms he revisited frequently, signaling his affinity for the creatures who kept him company as he worked. His birds appear dovelike, metaphorically conveying the Holy Spirit or themes of peace, but also evoking feelings of mourning, for the haunting cooing sound they make.
(We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, 2022)

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.38.43R-V - SAAM-2016.38.43R-V_2 - 126225
We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection
July 1, 2022–March 26, 2023
Smithsonian American Art Museum
We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection traces the rise of self-taught artists in the twentieth century and examines how, despite wide-ranging societal, racial, and gender-based obstacles, their creativity and bold self-definition became major forces in American art. The exhibition features recent gifts to the museum from two generations of collectors, Margaret Z. Robson and Douglas O. Robson.