Nude Female

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Living and working in his birthplace of Jackson, Ohio, Ernest “Popeye” Reed utilized the area’s wood and stone in his art, which according to the scholars Chuck and Jan Rosenak may include as many as three thousand replica artifacts, tourist souvenirs, and sculptures. This sandstone work by the artist, likely depicting Eve and the serpent from Old Testament Bible stories, draws on themes from Greek mythology, nature, advertising and Indigenous American life. Reed’s Female Figure shows a variety of tool marks, demonstrating the artist’s eclectic use of chisels, drills and even animal horns as carving tools. His unusual choice of implements led to a uniquely individual style that was further facilitated by his use of water to soften the stone before carving.

Keywords

United States
Figure
Female
Sculpture
Sandstone
Folk Art
Nude