HD, PROBABLY PHILADELPHIA, DATED 1933

This stately lion is the work of mysterious carver, HD, likely a stone mason from Philadelphia. A number of his works have been discovered in the area, all carved from marble building stones, signed HD and dated from the 1930s. This dating suggests that he artist could have lost work in the Great Depression and turned to carving as another source of income. For another work by the carver see The American Folk Art Museum accession number 2016.6.2.