Untitled (Root Figure)

Bessie Harvey, Untitled (Root Figure), 1988, painted root, beads, turkey bones, metal, and plastic, 42 ¹⁄₂ × 17 ⁵⁄₈ × 18 ⁵⁄₈ in. (108 × 44.8 × 47.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.35

Artwork Details

Title: Untitled (Root Figure)
Artist: Bessie Harvey
Date: 1988
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 42 ¹⁄₂ × 17 ⁵⁄₈ × 18 ⁵⁄₈ in. (108 × 44.8 × 47.3 cm)
Credit Line: The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson
Mediums Description: painted root, beads, turkey bones, metal, and plastic
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Figure — full length
Object Number: 2016.38.35
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2016.38.35

Artwork Description

Bessie Harvey saw her sculptural forms as revelations of the spirits that dwelled within roots and branches, identities she brought to life with found objects and paint. Harvey believed that she was creating artworks as God directed her to, listening and responding to the natural materials she used. She often painted her abstracted figures in dark colors, expressing the emotional or spiritual anguish of her own struggles. About her work, Harvey said: “I know that my art is a peculiar kind of art. What I do is what He lets me see.”
(We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, 2022)