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Untitled
James "Son Ford" Thomas
Contemporary Art
A blues musician and visual artist, James “Son Ford” Thomas made his portrait-like studies from unfired clay that he dug from various sites near his home, including the Mississippi River riverbed. Often adding wax or hair grease to stop the raw clay from cracking, the artist would sometimes bake his pieces in a fire before adding paint and found objects, such as the cigarette included here. Thomas, who also worked as gravedigger, saw his pieces as personal reflections on the people he knew in his community, as well as a commentary on the inevitability that “we all end up in the clay.”
MEDIUM
Unfired clay, fiber (artificial hair), paper, tobacco (cigarette), glass
(marbles), metal - iron alloy (pin) and white metal? (coin)
DATES
1987
DIMENSIONS
overall: 8 1/2 × 7 1/4 × 10 3/4 in., 12 lb. (21.6 × 18.4 × 27.3 cm, 5.44kg) (show scale)
INSCRIPTIONS
James Thomas written into the back of the bust in the leather hard
clay - after painting
COLLECTIONS
Contemporary Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
2018.28.6
CREDIT LINE
Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2018
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
James "Son Ford" Thomas (American, 1926–1993). Untitled, 1987. Unfired clay, fiber (artificial hair), paper, tobacco (cigarette), glass
(marbles), metal - iron alloy (pin) and white metal? (coin), overall: 8 1/2 × 7 1/4 × 10 3/4 in., 12 lb. (21.6 × 18.4 × 27.3 cm, 5.44kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2018, 2018.28.6. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , CUR.2018.28.6.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, CUR.2018.28.6.jpg., 2018
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
© artist or artist's estate
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