A bust of a man with gray hair and beard looking toward the left in a black jacket and white co…

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)

Artist Vernon Edwards (American, 1940 - 1999)

Date1982

Mediummahogany

Dimensions10 3/4 × 3 5/8 × 2 13/16 inches (27.3 × 9.2 × 7.1 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase.

Object number1997.22.2

On View

Not on view

Copyright© Estate of Vernon Edwards. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextVernon Edwards was one of a small number of accomplished African American woodcarvers working in the Savannah area in the late 20th century. He followed in the footsteps of self-taught artist Ulysses Davis and, like him, made valuable contributions to folk art in the region. By the 1980s, Edwards was pursuing his carving to a greater extent, and his freestanding and relief portrait sculptures of important figures in black history are reminiscent of work he had seen and admired in Davis’ Savannah barbershop. Though less refined, Edwards’ works have an undeniable emotional power that rises from a fierce pride in his heritage. In this sculpture, Edwards pays homage to Frederick Douglass in his signature blocky woodworking style. Douglass, a central figure in 19th-century America, was an escaped slave turned noted abolitionist, statesman, and editor

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