Untitled (Root Figure)

Bessie Harvey, Untitled (Root Figure), 1988, painted root, beads, turkey bones, metal, and plastic, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.35
Bessie Harvey, Untitled (Root Figure), 1988, painted root, beads, turkey bones, metal, and plastic, 42 1⁄2 × 17 5⁄8 × 18 5⁄8 in. (108 × 44.8 × 47.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.35

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled (Root Figure)
Artist
Date
1988
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
42 1⁄2 × 17 5⁄8 × 18 5⁄8 in. (108 × 44.8 × 47.3 cm)
Credit Line
The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson
Mediums Description
painted root, beads, turkey bones, metal, and plastic
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure — full length
Object Number
2016.38.35
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2016.38.35

Artwork Description

Bessie Harvey saw her sculptural forms as revelations of the spirits that dwelled within roots and branches, identities she brought to life with found objects and paint. Harvey believed that she was creating artworks as God directed her to, listening and responding to the natural materials she used. She often painted her abstracted figures in dark colors, expressing the emotional or spiritual anguish of her own struggles. About her work, Harvey said: “I know that my art is a peculiar kind of art. What I do is what He lets me see.”
(We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, 2022)

Works by this artist (4 items)

Bessie Harvey, Birthing, ca. 1986, painted wood, beads, rhinestones, sequins, glitter and nail, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase and gift of Estelle E. Friedman, 1994.46
Birthing
Artist
Dateca. 1986
painted wood, beads, rhinestones, sequins, glitter and nail
On view
Image Not Available
Prehistoric Bird
Artist
Date1988
paint on wood
Not on view
Bessie Harvey, Untitled (Root Figure), 1988, painted root, beads, turkey bones, metal, plastic, and fabric , Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.34
Untitled (Root Figure)
Artist
Date1988
painted root, beads, turkey bones, metal, plastic, and fabric
Not on view
Bessie Harvey, Untitled (Root Figure), 1988, painted root, beads, turkey bones, metal, and plastic, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.35
Untitled (Root Figure)
Artist
Date1988
painted root, beads, turkey bones, metal, and plastic
Not on view

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Artist
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John Safer, Chandelle, 1969, revised 2013, Lucite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2007.23
Chandelle
Artist
Date1969, revised 2013
Lucite
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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