Object Details
Artist
Elijah Pierce, born Baldwyn, MS 1892-died Columbus, OH 1984
Exhibition Label
Elijah Pierce was a lay preacher who understood the power of making his sermons visible, which he did by carving parables, moral tales, and tributes into bas-relief wood panels and small sculptures. One year he carved this small elephant as a gift for his wife’s birthday. She was so taken with it, he promised her an entire zoo. For Pierce, the carved and painted animals evoked stories, sometimes beasts from the Book of Genesis, other times creatures from the folktales of his youth.
(We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, 2022)
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson
Date
ca. 1978
Object number
2016.38.60
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Sculpture
Folk Art
Medium
painted and carved wood, pebbles, plastic, and rhinestone
Dimensions
17 1/2 × 4 × 11 7/8 in. (44.5 × 10.2 × 30.2 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Animal\elephant
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_2016.38.60