Edmondson, William

Edmondson, William

(?1882–1951) sculptor; born in Nashville, Tenn. Born of former slaves, he picked cotton, worked at railroad shops and as a janitor (1908–31), began sculpting in limestone (c. 1931), and lived in Nashville. Noted for his modern-primitive art, he specialized in worldly and religious works, as in Mary and Martha (1938).

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.