Object Details
Artist
Ben Miller, born KY 1917
Luce Center Label
Artists decorate canes with a wide variety of images, from traditional carvings of snakes and birds, to nude women, political figures, and celebrities. Some artists highlight the natural shape of the wood by applying relief designs onto twisted branches and roots, while others carve three-dimensional shapes into the shaft. Images of animals are the most popular decoration, but many canes also show patriotic, fraternal, and political themes. (George Meyer, American Folk Art Canes, 1992)
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Date
ca. 1968
Object number
1986.65.1
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Sculpture
Folk Art
Medium
carved, stained, and varnished dogwood or white ash with plastic and felt- tipped pen and ink
Dimensions
38 x 8 1/8 x 1 1/4 in. (96.5 x 20.7 x 3.3 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, 28A
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Animal\reptile\snake
Animal\reptile\lizard
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1986.65.1