Tambo

Melvin Edwards, Tambo, 1993, welded steel, 28 1825 1422 in. (71.564.255.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1994.55, © 1993, Melvin Edwards

Artwork Details

Title
Tambo
Date
1993
Dimensions
28 1825 1422 in. (71.564.255.9 cm.)
Copyright
© 1993, Melvin Edwards
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program
Mediums
Mediums Description
welded steel
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — tool — wrench
  • Abstract — geometric
  • Object — tool — shovel
  • Object — weapon — spear
Object Number
1994.55

Artwork Description

Edwards created Tambo in 1993 to commemorate Oliver Tambo, the president of the African National Congress, who, with Nelson Mandela, transformed the ANC in the mid-1940s into an activist organization that called on South Africa’s black population to engage in nonviolent forms of civil disobedience against apartheid laws. Tambo is a sculpture of allusion and history, an assemblage of steel implements that speak to their original industrial origins, and to metaphorical possibilities. The I-beam fragments and wrenches allude to Tambo’s efforts to repair society; the shovel and spear symbolically honor the son of peasant farmers who devoted his life to securing equality for South Africa’s black residents.


African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012

Works by this artist (5 items)

Frederick Brown, Junior Wells, 1989, oil on linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by William Cost Johnson, George W. Story, Robert J. Oliver and Mrs. Barwig-Wagner, 1990.31
Junior Wells
Date1989
oil on linen
Not on view
Frederick Brown, Green Window, 1970, oil, silica, and glue on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gerald L. Pearson, 1995.22.2, © 1970, Frederick J. Brown
Green Window
Date1970
oil, silica, and glue on canvas
Not on view
Frederick Brown, John Henry, 1979, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gerald L. Pearson, 1995.22.1, © 1979, Frederick J. Brown
John Henry
Date1979
oil on canvas
Not on view
Frederick Brown, Stagger Lee, 1983, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1991.40, © 1983, Frederick J. Brown
Stagger Lee
Date1983
oil on canvas
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 1995.22.1 - SAAM-1995.22.1_1 - 65784
African American Art in the 20th Century
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is home to one of the most significant collections of African American art in the world.