Untitled (Bird Bath with Figures)

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
Not on view
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
Subjects
  • 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)

Works by this artist (6 items)

View all artworks
William Edmondson, Crucifixion, ca. 1932-1937, limestone, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Elizabeth Gibbons-Hanson, 1981.141
Crucifixion
Artist
Dateca. 1932-1937
limestone
On view
William Edmondson, Rabbit, ca. 1940, carved limestone, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.241
Rabbit
Artist
Dateca. 1940
carved limestone
On view
William Edmondson, Untitled (Bird), ca. 1937, carved limestone, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.89
Untitled (Bird)
Artist
Dateca. 1937
carved limestone
On view
William Edmondson, Untitled (Teacher), ca. 1932-1940, carved limestone, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.88
Untitled (Teacher)
Artist
Dateca. 1932-1940
carved limestone
On view

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

More Artworks from the Collection

Browse All Artworks
Jesús Moroles, Lapstrake I, 1980, Georgia gray granite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alton and Emily Steiner, 2002.82
Lapstrake I
Artist
Date1980
Georgia gray granite
Not on view
John Safer, Chandelle, 1969, revised 2013, Lucite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2007.23
Chandelle
Artist
Date1969, revised 2013
Lucite
Not on view
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Shell), early 1930s, mixed media: paperboard, paper, shells, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 1985.64.37
Untitled (Shell)
Artist
Dateearly 1930s
mixed media: paperboard, paper, shells
Not on view
Emery Blagdon, The Healing Machine, ca. 1955-1986, mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and gift of Dan Dryden, friend of Emery Blagdon, the Kohler Foundation, Inc., and John E. and Douglas O. Robson, from the Margaret Z. Robson Collection, VR.2014.49.GRP
The Healing Machine
Artist
Dateca. 1955-1986
mixed media
On view