Untitled (Uncle Sam)

Edgar Tolson, Untitled (Uncle Sam), 1972, painted wood, 29 34 × 8 × 7 14 in. (75.6 × 20.3 × 18.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orren and Marilyn Bradley and Kohler Foundation, Inc., 2015.58.23

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled (Uncle Sam)
Artist
Date
1972
Dimensions
29 34 × 8 × 7 14 in. (75.6 × 20.3 × 18.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Orren and Marilyn Bradley and Kohler Foundation, Inc.
Mediums Description
painted wood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Dress — costume — Uncle Sam costume
  • Figure male — full length
Object Number
2015.58.23

Artwork Description

Edgar Tolson was fifty-three when a stroke impaired the use of his hand. In early years, he had pursued woodcarving as a hobby, but it was not until the stroke forced him to sell his tobacco farm that he turned seriously to his craft. He began to carve as a form of physical therapy and to pass the time he could no longer spend farming. Over one thousand works are credited to this Kentucky carver. Tolson preferred to work with poplar and used paint sparingly to highlight specific details. In this sculpture of Uncle Sam, whose slender physique is thought to have resembled that of the artist, he painted the clothes and hair of the figure but left the natural wood grain to serve as skin.

Works by this artist (483 items)

Paul Manship, Model of Flagpole Base, Alfred E. Smith Memorial, n.d., cast posthumously, bronze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1971.15
Model of Flagpole Base, Alfred E. Smith Memorial
Daten.d., cast posthumously
bronze
On view
Paul Manship, Bulldog, 1906, bronze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.41
Bulldog
Date1906
bronze
On view
Paul Manship, Frog, 1952, bronze on lapis lazuli base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.31
Frog
Date1952
bronze on lapis lazuli base
On view
Paul Manship, Study for Venus Anadyomene, 1924, bronze on marble base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.57
Study for Venus Anadyomene
Date1924
bronze on marble base
On view

More Artworks from the Collection

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1982, oil stick and waxed crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters, 2018.16
Untitled
Date1982
oil stick and waxed crayon on paper
Not on view
Jeff Donaldson, Victory in Zimbabwe, 1980, mixed media on cardboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2019.1, © 2018, Estate of Jeff Donaldson
Victory in Zimbabwe
Date1980
mixed media on cardboard
Not on view
Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, (Star-shaped structure), pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Martha F. Butler, 1991.56.366
(Star-shaped structure)
pencil on paper
Not on view
Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, Tabor, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Martha F. Butler, 1991.56.350A-B
Tabor
pencil on paper
Not on view