Object Details
Artist
O. L. "Geech" Samuels, born Wilcox County, GA 1931-died Tallahassee, FL 2017
Luce Center Label
Ossie Lee "Geech" Samuels believes that the shape of the wood determines what he carves. His surreal sculptures show a wide variety of subjects, including unicorns, real and fantastical animals, family members, black heroes, and futuristic automobiles. Although he is color-blind, Samuels paints his sculptures with an array of colors and a "secret mixture" of sawdust, glitter, and glue. (Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Contemporary American Folk Art: A Collector's Guide, 1996, and Betty-Carol Sellen, Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art, 2000)
Luce Object Quote
"There's a story to go with everything, and the stories just keep popping out." O. L. Samuels, quoted in Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Contemporary American Folk Art: A Collector's Guide, 1996
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Date
1995
Object number
1997.124.84
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Sculpture
Folk Art
Medium
carved and painted wood, glass, and glitter
Dimensions
45 1/2 x 39 x 10 in. (115.6 x 99.1 x 25.4 cm.)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 27B
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Animal\dog
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1997.124.84