.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
An exceptional work by renowned African American artist William Edmondson (1874-1951), Fox is an incredibly sophisticated object that is a powerful symbol of Edmondson’s personal resilience and a testament to his innate artistic talent. The active animal is astride with confidence and is exuding pride, personality and a great sense of dignity. The forward motion pushes the fox to the limits of the limestone block from which it emerges, while its tail serves as a counterbalance that grounds the sculpture. The artist’s great skill with a chisel is evident in the various textures: marks that form the fox’s tail are finessed to create a mottled surface, while smooth contours render the creases and lines of its body, the details of its face and anticipating ears. The fox character may come from Uncle Remus folktales, a collection of African American stories with Br’er Rabbit as its main character and Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear as the antagonists. Here, Edmondson effortlessly imbues a wonderful charisma in the animal, especially in its face. The soft-chiseled eyes, flattened snout with nostrils and a simple curved line forming its grinning mouth are all reductive in form, but effectively cast a charming, playful, and perhaps a bit devious character.
Born to former slaves on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee, Edmondson moved with his family to Nashville proper around 1890 when urban expansion obliterated his childhood farm. He held two jobs for much of his adult life: from 1900 to 1907 he worked for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, and from around 1907 to 1931 he served as a janitor at the Nashville Woman’s Hospital. While he did not come to artmaking until his late fifties, Edmondson had long dabbled with stonemasonry. His first foray possibly occurred in the late 1890s, when he likely worked on the construction of stone fences at Whitland Farm in present-day southwest Nashville. He was employed again as a stonemason during the early years of the Great Depression (Ann Percy with Cara Zimmerman, Great and Mighty Things: Outsider Art from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection (Philadelphia, 2013), pp. 67-68). After losing his job at the Woman’s Hospital in the early 1930s, Edmondson established a stonecutting business next to his home to create tombstones for his community. Always devoted to his religion, Edmondson believed he had a divine vision in which God told him to carve, “I looked up in the sky and right there in the noon daylight he hung a tombstone out for me to make.” Over time, he also began to carve freestanding sculptures of religious figures, famous and local people, and various animals. Edmondson carved from blocks of locally gathered discarded building limestone and, on occasion, purchased stone from local suppliers.
Edmondson’s yard quickly attracted attention from art lovers. In 1936 Vanderbilt University affiliate Sidney Hirsch came across Edmondson’s yard, and he introduced his friends Alfred and Elisabeth Starr to the artist. The Starrs in turn brought Harper’s Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe to the yard, and she photographed the artist and his work multiple times in 1936 and/or 1937. After seeing the Dahl-Wolfe photographs, Alfred H. Barr, Jr., then-director of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, authorized a 1937 exhibition of works by the sculptor, making Edmondson the first African American to have a solo exhibition at MoMA. The exhibition checklist notes a fox which was not included for display. In addition to its $40 selling price, the list does not note any details that would identify the object with certainty, but there are only two known foxes by Edmondson, meaning this example may have been included in the group at the MoMA. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s Edmondson’s home remained a destination, drawing visitors such as famed photographer Edward Weston. The artist also received support from the Work Projects Administration during this time; he worked for the organization from 20 November 1939 to 6 July 1940 (under the supervision of Kershaw), and from 11 November 1940 to 26 June 1941 (Cheekwood Museum of Art, The Art of William Edmondson (Nashville and Jackson, Mississippi, 1999), p. 43). His worked was also recently celebrated in 2023 with an exhibition at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision.
Born to former slaves on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee, Edmondson moved with his family to Nashville proper around 1890 when urban expansion obliterated his childhood farm. He held two jobs for much of his adult life: from 1900 to 1907 he worked for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, and from around 1907 to 1931 he served as a janitor at the Nashville Woman’s Hospital. While he did not come to artmaking until his late fifties, Edmondson had long dabbled with stonemasonry. His first foray possibly occurred in the late 1890s, when he likely worked on the construction of stone fences at Whitland Farm in present-day southwest Nashville. He was employed again as a stonemason during the early years of the Great Depression (Ann Percy with Cara Zimmerman, Great and Mighty Things: Outsider Art from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection (Philadelphia, 2013), pp. 67-68). After losing his job at the Woman’s Hospital in the early 1930s, Edmondson established a stonecutting business next to his home to create tombstones for his community. Always devoted to his religion, Edmondson believed he had a divine vision in which God told him to carve, “I looked up in the sky and right there in the noon daylight he hung a tombstone out for me to make.” Over time, he also began to carve freestanding sculptures of religious figures, famous and local people, and various animals. Edmondson carved from blocks of locally gathered discarded building limestone and, on occasion, purchased stone from local suppliers.
Edmondson’s yard quickly attracted attention from art lovers. In 1936 Vanderbilt University affiliate Sidney Hirsch came across Edmondson’s yard, and he introduced his friends Alfred and Elisabeth Starr to the artist. The Starrs in turn brought Harper’s Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe to the yard, and she photographed the artist and his work multiple times in 1936 and/or 1937. After seeing the Dahl-Wolfe photographs, Alfred H. Barr, Jr., then-director of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, authorized a 1937 exhibition of works by the sculptor, making Edmondson the first African American to have a solo exhibition at MoMA. The exhibition checklist notes a fox which was not included for display. In addition to its $40 selling price, the list does not note any details that would identify the object with certainty, but there are only two known foxes by Edmondson, meaning this example may have been included in the group at the MoMA. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s Edmondson’s home remained a destination, drawing visitors such as famed photographer Edward Weston. The artist also received support from the Work Projects Administration during this time; he worked for the organization from 20 November 1939 to 6 July 1940 (under the supervision of Kershaw), and from 11 November 1940 to 26 June 1941 (Cheekwood Museum of Art, The Art of William Edmondson (Nashville and Jackson, Mississippi, 1999), p. 43). His worked was also recently celebrated in 2023 with an exhibition at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision.