CHRISTIE'S
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| William Edmondson (1874-1951), Lion, c. 1937. Limestone and mortar, lion 22 in high, 37½ in long, 7 in wide; |
An essential introduction to the ‘Outsider’ taking the art world by storm, whose rare "Lion" is set to star in our 20 January sale.
William Edmondson’s 1937 exhibition at the New York institution was historic, cementing his important place in the history of American art. It was overseen by MoMA’s first director, Alfred Barr, who commented: ‘Usually the naïve artist works in the easier medium of painting. Edmondson’s decision to start making sculpture is said to have followed a religious vision, in which God told him to take up tools and work on his behalf. In the press release for his 1937 MoMA exhibition, he described the resulting forms as ‘miracles’, and the ‘word [of] Jesus speaking his mind in my mind’. [
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