Ed Davis, Girl with Tambourine, 1935, carved and painted wood, metal chain, and glass beads, 17 x 5 7⁄8 x 3 3⁄8 in. (43.2 x 15.0 x 8.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.240
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Girl with Tambourine
- Artist
- Date
- 1935
- Location
- Dimensions
- 17 x 5 7⁄8 x 3 3⁄8 in. (43.2 x 15.0 x 8.6 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
- Mediums Description
- carved and painted wood, metal chain, and glass beads
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Object — musical instrument — tambourine
- Performing arts — music — tambourine
- Figure female — full length
- Object Number
- 1986.65.240
Artwork Description
Ed Davis inscribed his name in capital letters, along with the year, on the front of the base of this carved and painted figure. Davis may have been inspired by Polish American sculptor Elie Nadelman (1882–1946), whose simplified wooden figures were influenced by his own collection of American and European folk art, which Nadelman made available to the public at his Museum of Folk Arts in Riverdale, New York. In Girl with Tambourine the figure’s plain short dress reveals her hourglass shape and, along with the simplicity of her percussion instrument, implies youth and innocence.