William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) carved limestone sculpture, "Preacher", depicting a minister with his left arm raised with a Bible in hand, open eyes and mouth, and attired in a long-tailed coat and bow tie, standing on a pedestal. 23 1/2" H x 12 1/2" W x 8 1/4" D. This sculpture appears in an Edward Weston photograph of Edmondson's yard taken in 1941. Ref. Edmund Fuller, "Visions in Stone," p. 11. Illustrated, ibid, p. 36. Exhibited 1981, the Tennessee State Museum inaugural exhibit titled "William Edmondson: A Retrospective" and featured in the exhibition catalog of the same name on page 38, catalog entry #8. Also exhibited at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, "The Art of Tennessee", 2006 (and full page illustration in the catalog, p. 281). Edmondson's choice of a preacher as subject matter speaks to the prominence of the church not only in black communities in the early 20th century, and the role of the preacher as a community leader, but also to the importance of spirituality in his own life. It was a directive from God at the age of 57 which Edmondson (a former janitor and railroad worker with no formal art training) said prompted him to pick up a chisel and begin sculpting limestone tombstones, and eventually figures. His work was noticed by Nashville art patrons who introduced him to Harper's Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe's now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1937 Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art. At least three other Preacher figures by Edmondson are known, including one in the collection of the Newark Museum and another in the collection of the McClung Museum of Art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Provenance: Private Southern Collection, acquired circa 1990 from the son of Myron King, owner of Nashville's Lyzon Art Gallery and one of Edmondson's earliest supporters.