LOVE BIRDS, 1940

Paint and glitter on carved wood; 16" X 15"

Gift of T. Marshall Hahn, 2001.14

University of Kentucky Art Museum

While woodcarver Elijah Pierce is best known for his religious-themed works, animals were another favorite subject. Love Birds, carved in low relief and painted in rich colors, is a charming expression of nature and emotion. Pierce’s skill as a carver is evident in the execution of the individual feathers on the birds. The carved wooden frame encloses and accentuates the subject, becoming an important element of the work.

About the Artist | Classroom Ideas | Links

About the Artist

The youngest son of a church deacon and former slave, Elijah Pierce was born into a highly religious Mississippi family. The artist’s strict upbringing had a great effect on his life and work. When Elijah was a young boy, his father gave him a pocketknife, and he learned the art of carving with help and instruction from his uncle, Lewis Wallace. By the time he was 7, Elijah was crafting small wooden farm animals. He went on to become a barber and an ordained Baptist preacher, but continued carving in his spare time or when business was slow. He believed that his wooden works were another vehicle for the word and message of God.

In 1923, Pierce moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he lived until his death.

Although Pierce carved virtually his entire life, he wasn’t recognized as an artist outside his small community until the 1970s. After seeing Pierce’s work at a Columbus YMCA exhibit, Boris Grunewald, a sculptor and graduate student at Ohio State University, took it upon himself to make that work known. The two men became friends, and Grunewald organized a number of important exhibits for Pierce. Within a few years, Grunewald had helped Pierce create a name for himself, and he was both nationally and internationally recognized as a leading folk artist. In a 1979 article from the New York Times Magazine, Bob Bishop of the Museum of American Folk Art in New York explained, “There are 500 woodcarvers working today in the United States who are technically as proficient as Pierce, but none can equal the power of Pierce’s personal vision.” In 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Pierce a National Heritage Fellowship as one of 15 master traditional artists. The most extensive collection of his work—more than 300 pieces—is at the Columbus Museum of Art.

Note: KET humanities teacher Elizabeth Jewell discusses the use of texture in this work in the video segment “Elements of Art” on Responding to Art.

Classroom Ideas

Discussion: How are the elements of art used in this piece? Why might Pierce have chosen to use golden glitter on the birds’ feathers? What is the focal point of the work? What do you think the title means?

Activity: Research the type of parrots called lovebirds. Do the birds in this work look like lovebirds? What other meaning does the phrase “love birds” have? List other common phrases incorporating plants or animals, such as “two peas in a pod,” “puppy love,” and “curiosity killed the cat,” and create a work of art with one of the phrases as its title. Be literal or nonliteral in your interpretation.