Untitled (Hart/Heart)

Ulysses Davis, Untitled (Hart/Heart), ca. 1950-1960, carved wood, 34 × 35 × 7 in. (86.4 × 88.9 × 17.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2015.48

Artwork Details

Title: Untitled (Hart/Heart)
Artist: Ulysses Davis
Date: ca. 1950-1960
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
1st Floor
/
West Wing
Dimensions: 34 × 35 × 7 in. (86.4 × 88.9 × 17.8 cm)
Credit Line: Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description: carved wood
Classifications: Sculpture
Highlights: Folk and Self-Taught Art
Subjects: Animal — deer
Emblem — heart
Object Number: 2015.48
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2015.48

Artwork Description

Ulysses Davis carved this relief sculpture for his wife. Davis plays with words and form by depicting a hart, or mature male deer, bleating to his mate inside a heart-shaped frame. Playful young deer bound around a second border, which is set with additional heart shapes carved in relief. The piece, a departure from Davis’s better-known presidential busts and fantastic animals, speaks about familial love.