Clark Battle Fitz-Gerald, American (1917-2004), Negro

Clark Battle Fitz-Gerald
American, (1917-2004)
Negro Head, 1937-47
carved black walnut
Property from the Saint Louis Art Museum, sold to benefit the Acquisitions fund

This piece was featured in the 1974 Exhibition “The Black Presence in Art” which examined SLAM's collection of African-American Artists and portrayals in art in their collections. The wood for this piece came from a tree in Kirkwood that Fitz-Gerald was given.

Clark Battle Fitz-Gerald was a tremendously gifted carpenter and metal worker. He was a St. Louis native who went to John Burroughs School and then the Philadelphia College of Art. He served as a first lieutenant in the second world war and was injured near Leipzig. He also carved a ballot box and used the falling maple trees in his hometown of Castine to build monumental sculptures. His pieces have been exhibited at Buris Hall Columbia (The Market Place), Independence Hall in Philadelphia Milkweed Pod) Coventry Cathedral (Judgement of the City) Carnegie Hall (The beginning and End).
16 x 8 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches