Untitled Self-Portrait
1987
Sculptor, American, 1926 - 1993
James "Son Ford" Thomas
Attributed to
Artwork overview
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Medium
unfired clay, artificial hair, glass marbles, and paint
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Credit Line
Patrons' Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation
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Dimensions
overall: 20.96 × 11.43 × 16.51 cm (8 1/4 × 4 1/2 × 6 1/2 in.)
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Accession Number
2020.28.3
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
The artist [1926-1993], Leland, Mississippi; purchased 1987 by William S. Arnett [1939-2020], Atlanta; gift 2012 to the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, Atlanta; acquired 2020 by NGA through a gift/purchase agreement.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1996
Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art of the South, Michael G. Carlos Museum at City Hall East, Atlanta, 1996.
2014
When the Stars Begin to Fall: Imagination and the American South, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; NSU Art Museum, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, 2014-2015.
2015
James 'Son Ford' Thomas: The Devil and His Blues, 80WSE Gallery (80 Washington Square East Gallery), New York University, 2015.
2018
Outliers and American Vanguard Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2018-2019.
Bibliography
2000
Arnett, Paul, and William Arnett. Souls grown deep : African American vernacular art of the South. 2 vols. Atlanta, 2000-2001.
Inscriptions
across underside of base: SONTHOMAS