Birthing

Bessie Harvey, Birthing, ca. 1986, painted wood, beads, rhinestones, sequins, glitter and nail, 9 1235 3417 78 in. (24.290.845.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase and gift of Estelle E. Friedman, 1994.46

Artwork Details

Title
Birthing
Date
ca. 1986
Dimensions
9 1235 3417 78 in. (24.290.845.4 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase and gift of Estelle E. Friedman
Mediums Description
painted wood, beads, rhinestones, sequins, glitter and nail
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group — female and child
  • State of being — other — pregnant
Object Number
1994.46

Artwork Description

Bessie Harvey used branches, roots, and found objects to make sculptures that reflected her deep spirituality and spoke about the challenges she had faced. Harvey explained that her art came from her own struggle. She remembered her hunger during the Depression and making her own toys from twigs and branches as a child. Harvey married at fourteen and by age thirty-five had borne eleven children. “I didn’t really become human until my youngest was half-grown,” she explained, noting the intense struggle of providing for her children. Often painted black or dark brown, Harvey’s sculptures are raw and emotive. Her natural forms convey a view that God and nature are one and that her gift was the ability to make something from nothing.

Works by this artist (1036 items)

William H. Johnson, Young Pastry Cook, ca. 1928-1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.693
Young Pastry Cook
Dateca. 1928-1930
oil on canvas
On view
William H. Johnson, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1935-1938, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.814
Portrait of a Man
Dateca. 1935-1938
oil on burlap
On view
William H. Johnson, Breakdown with Flat Tire, ca. 1940-1941, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.587
Breakdown with Flat Tire
Dateca. 1940-1941
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, For India and China, ca. 1944-1945, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.662
For India and China
Dateca. 1944-1945
oil on paperboard
On view