FILTER RESULTS
Tramp Art Shrine
ca. 1865-190043 1/2 x 26 1/4 x 19 in. (110.5 x 66.7 x 48.3 cm)
American artist
United States
Object Type:
Sculpture
Medium and Support:
Wood, paper and mirror
Credit Line:
Lillian Utz Fund and Tribute Fund
Accession Number:
1987.4
Location: Currently on view
Tramp art, originally thought to have been a style of woodworking used by hoboes to make gifts for people who provided them with hospitality, is now understood to encompass a broader group of work by self-taught artisans. Typically using found materials, the creators used a chip or notch carving technique and layering of materials to create optically dazzling patterns and designs.
In this work, an Armour meat packing box was used for the body of the shrine, to which layers of intricately decorated details were added. In the interior are references from the New Testament to the betrayal and death of Jesus, among them the cross, the cock, the ladder and the spear. While we do not know the artist’s name, the degree of his piety communicates itself through his painstaking creation of this personal shrine.
[Gallery label text, 2002]
In this work, an Armour meat packing box was used for the body of the shrine, to which layers of intricately decorated details were added. In the interior are references from the New Testament to the betrayal and death of Jesus, among them the cross, the cock, the ladder and the spear. While we do not know the artist’s name, the degree of his piety communicates itself through his painstaking creation of this personal shrine.
[Gallery label text, 2002]
Provenance
Frank Maresca American Art, NY (dealer); purchased from him by the Gallery in 1987
Keywords
Click a term to view the records with the same keyword
Additional Images
Click an image to view a larger version
Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Susan Dodge Peters, ed. Memorial Art Gallery: An Introduction to the Collection. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery in association with Hudson Hills Press, 1988.
- Memorial Art Gallery. Gallery Notes. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1935-1995.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Clifford A. Wallach and Michael Cornish. Tramp Art: One Notch at a Time. New York, NY: Wallach-Irons Publishing, 1998.
- Article Author: Addison, Laura M.. Article Title: "Idleness is an Unwanted Stranger". Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Laura M. Addison, ed. No Idle Hands: The Myths & Meanings of Tramp Art. Santa Fe, NM: Museum of New Mexico Press, 2017. Page Number: 203, Figure Number: 4.14, p. 204
Portfolio List
Click a portfolio name to view all the objects in that portfolio
This object is a member of the following portfolios:
Web Links
See links to web pages and lesson plans
MAGexplore
MAGexplore provides in-depth information and close looking at over 200 objects in MAG's collection.