© Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- William Edmondson
Sheet: 9 7/8 × 7 15/16 in. (25.1 × 20.2 cm)
Explore Further
Early in her career, Louise Dahl-Wolfe photographed William Edmondson,
a self-taught sculptor who used discarded limestone to create highly original
and nuanced tombstones, human figures, and “critters” he believed were divinely
inspired. Dahl-Wolfe’s photographs brought his work to the attention of a wider
audience, including Museum of Modern Art founding director Alfred Barr, who
organized a solo exhibition of Edmondson’s work in 1937—the museum’s first for
an African American artist. Dahl-Wolfe would ultimately gain fame as a fashion
photographer, but in later years she claimed to have always preferred straight
portraits.
ProvenanceThe artist; given to Gene Fenn; Suzanne Fenn; [Paul M. Hertzmann, Inc., San Francisco]; purchased by MFAH, 2020.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in pencil, verso, bottom center: 2481.03
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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