Lot 196: William Edmondson School Teacher Sculpture, Exhibited

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951), “Schoolteacher Lifting her Skirt,” carved limestone sculpture of a woman with thick, deeply-incised medium length hair, wearing a long dress with bow at neck and in back. With her right arm she holds a book against her side and with her left she raises the hem of her dress to reveal a scalloped slip or undergarment. Her shoes extend over the carved, rectangular base. Underside of base marked “101”. 15 1/2 in. H x 6 in. W. x 8 in. D. Exhibited, “Will Edmondson’s Mirkels,” catalog no. 101, Cheekwood (Nashville, TN), 1964. Note: this sculpture is also pictured in a Feb. 9, 1941 article about Edmondson in the Nashville, Tennessean newspaper, along with two other female figures all noted as “showing the broad and rich humor of his [William Edmondson’s] views on the human race.” The article was a preview for a one-man exhibit of more than 30 Edmondson works at the Nashville Art Gallery at 419 Union Street. However, the article does not make it clear whether this sculpture was included in that exhibit. (A copy of the newspaper article containing the photograph of this sculpture is available to the winning bidder). Another sculpture, “Two Doves,” from the same collection, is also for sale in this auction. Artist biography: William Edmondson, the first African American artist to have a solo exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves. He worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone, and he credited divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17-year art career. In the 1930s, his work caught the attention of well-connected Nashville arts patrons Alfred and Elizabeth Starr and Harper’s Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe, wife of Nashville-born artist Meyer Wolfe. Louise Dahl-Wolfe’s now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world including Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art, resulting in the landmark 1937 exhibit. Although Edmondson’s earliest work was more utilitarian in nature, encompassing tombstones and birdbaths, as his style matured his subject matter grew to include Biblical figures, various animals, and female figures, frequently based on women he knew from his community. 

PROVENANCE:

The collection of Wharton McDaniel, by descent from his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William R. Rutherford McDaniel of Nashville and later, Texarkana, TX. Bill McDaniel was a publisher, radio station owner, publicist, and an editor at the Nashville Tennessean newspaper. In the late 1930s, Bill McDaniel and William Edmondson both worked for the Federal Works Progress Administration in Nashville. In his role at the WPA, McDaniel served as director of the Tennessee Writers’ Project, and published Tennessee: A Guide to the State (which briefly referenced Edmondson and his work). Mrs. McDaniel volunteered with the Nashville Art Gallery, a WPA-backed initiative intended to highlight the work of local artists. 

CONDITION:

Overall very good condition. Old, minor losses primarily to base at front corners and right rear corner, largest to right rear corner, 2 1/4 x 1 3/4. Loss to front left extends slightly upwards into dress, 7/8 x 1 3/4 inch total area. Scattered small spots of wear and scratches, including to cheeks, left arm, right side of chest, and lower area of dress. Minor surface accretions to lower right of hair on back. Underside with adhesive residue plus marker inscription that reads “101” with underline (presumably a marking from the 1964 exhibit).