Unidentified, Fiddler, early 20th century, carved and painted wood, approx. 10 x 6 x 5 in. (25.4 x 15.2 x 12.7 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.295
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Fiddler
- Artist
- Unidentified
- Date
- early 20th century
- Location
- Dimensions
- approx. 10 x 6 x 5 in. (25.4 x 15.2 x 12.7 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
- Mediums Description
- carved and painted wood
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Figure male — full length
- Performing arts — music — fiddle
- Object Number
- 1986.65.295
Artwork Description
Early-twentieth-century wood-carvers often made toy figures with movable parts to amuse their children. The Fiddler’s arms and legs can be moved to suggest that he is playing the violin and dancing; in Seated Man with Pipe the figure’s left arm can move up and down to simulate the gesture of smoking. In both sculptures the artists paid more attention to animating the figures than they did to detail or color.
