“MINUTE MAID” Articulated Figure

Unidentified, "MINUTE MAID" Articulated Figure, ca. 1950s, "Minute Maid" orange juice can, carved and painted wood, and turned iron, 10 ¹⁄₂ x 3 ¹⁄₂ x 2 ³⁄₄ in. (26.7 x 9.0 x 7.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.277

Artwork Details

Title: “MINUTE MAID” Articulated Figure
Artist: Unidentified
Date: ca. 1950s
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
Luce Foundation Center
/
3rd Floor
/
27B
Dimensions: 10 ¹⁄₂ x 3 ¹⁄₂ x 2 ³⁄₄ in. (26.7 x 9.0 x 7.0 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums: wood
container
Mediums Description: "Minute Maid" orange juice can, carved and painted wood, and turned iron
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Dress — accessory — hat
Figure male — full length
Object — fruit — orange
Object Number: 1986.65.277
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.277

Artwork Description

This figure is similar to Southern minstrel dancing dolls, or “limberjacks,” which were loosely jointed and attached to a stick. Owners of these dolls placed them on a thin board, which they tapped with their fingers to make the figures dance. An unknown artist made this doll from found objects, perhaps to resemble the singer Bing Crosby. (American Folk Art: The Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. Collection, 1981)