William Edmondson:
A Monumental Vision

About the Exhibition

William Edmondson (c. 1874–1951) made carving his vocation around 1932, having previously worked as a hospital orderly in Nashville, Tennessee. Inspired by a vision—described by the artist as a divine calling—Edmondson began to carve gravestones, freestanding figurative sculpture, and garden ornaments. These pieces, distinctive for their clean lines and succinct expression of character, soon attracted the attention of curators and collectors, and in 1937, Edmondson became the first Black American artist to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

More than 80 years later, this exhibition presents over 60 works by Edmondson and sheds new light on his practice and artistry. It reassesses the artist as more than a passive actor in an unfolding drama—a self-taught sculptor “discovered” by white patrons and institutions—and explores how Edmondson’s identity and position within history influenced his life and work. On view in the Roberts Gallery, William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision also examines the complex relationship between Black cultural production and the American museum.

To elaborate on this important theme, Chicago-based performance artist Brendan Fernandes has choreographed a new work, Returning to Before, to be activated in the exhibition space.

Exhibition Organization

William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision is organized by the Barnes and curated by James Claiborne, curator of public programs, and Nancy Ireson, Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions & Gund Family Chief Curator.