William Edmondson: the man compelled to carve

William Edmondson's carved limestone figures command strong prices at auction, decades after the self-taught sculptor's death.

By Andrea ValluzzoAugust 24, 2026

Above: A carved limestone sculpture by William Edmondson, titled ‘The Preacher’, sold for $540,000 plus buyer’s premium at Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals, Knoxville, Tennessee, in January 2020, far surpassing its $70,000-$75,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK – Like several other famed self-taught artists, <a href="https://www.liveauctioneers.com/c/william-edmondson/24909/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">William Edmondson</a> (1874-1951) came to art late in life after having a spiritual calling. The Nashville-born man, a son of freed slaves, first worked as a manual laborer on farms, the railroad, and in a hospital. He began his career as a sculptor in 1932 after he had a vision of Jesus planting a seed inside him, urging him to sculpt. He immediately began carving chunks of Tennessee limestone salvaged from street curbs and demolished houses, using sledgehammers and rough chisels that he fashioned from railroad spikes. He first made headstones for Black cemeteries and thereafter turned his focus to art. His endearingly primitive style and rotund sculptures – almost like Botero paintings come to life – are highly prized works of American <a href="https://www.liveauctioneers.com/c/folk-art/26404/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">folk art</a>. The Preacher, a 23½in-tall limestone sculpture, commanded one of the top prices recorded for an Edmondson. Depicting a minister with a Bible in his hand and wearing a long-tailed coat and bow tie, The Preacher sold for $540,000 plus buyer’s premium in January 2020 at Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals, far surpassing its $70,000-$75,000 estimate. The current auction record for the artist was set in 2016 at Christie’s by Boxer, which made $785,000. The Preacher has a strong exhibition history and appears in a 1941 Edward Weston photograph of Edmondson’s yard. “The inspiration for this work was most likely someone that he knew personally, possibly his pastor,” said Stephanie L. Case, co-owner, principal auctioneer, and vice president of operations at Case Auctions in Knoxville, Tennessee. “This sculpture is notable due to the strong emphasis on the Bible being held in the figure’s left hand, the sizable base on which he stands, and the detailed work on the figure’s suit and hair.” Religion figured prominently in many of Edmondson’s sculptures, but none more so than in those that depict the crucifixion. One such piece picturing Jesus on a cross sold for $140,000 plus buyer’s premium in October 2018 at Rago. Each of Edmondson’s crucifixion sculptures varied slightly, but in most, Jesus is portrayed as strong and resolute.

Another view of a William Edmondson ‘Crucifixion’ carved limestone sculpture that achieved $140,000 plus buyer’s premium at Rago, Lambertville, New Jersey, in October 2018. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

According to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, which has a fine example of an Edmondson crucifixion sculpture in its collection, ‘The figure remains upright and aware, in keeping with his symbolic role in African-American art as one who brings deliverance and freedom.’ Edmondson’s scrupulous attention to detail also shows in Schoolteacher Lifting Her Skirt, a 15½in-tall limestone sculpture of a standing woman raising the hem of her dress to reveal a scalloped underskirt while holding a book against her side with her other arm. Exhibited at Cheekwood in Nashville in 1964 and pictured in a February 1941 Nashville Tennessean newspaper article on Edmondson alongside two other female figures, it sold for $320,000 plus buyer’s premium at Case Auctions in January 2026, against an $80,000-$90,000 estimate — nearly four times its high estimate.

William Edmondson, Schoolteacher Lifting Her Skirt, carved limestone sculpture — William Edmondson’s carved limestone sculpture “Schoolteacher Lifting Her Skirt” sold for $320,000 plus buyer’s premium at Case Auctions, Knoxville, Tennessee, in January 2026, against an $80,000-$90,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals and LiveAuctioneers.

A book or purse held close to the body and a carefully carved hairstyle recur across many of Edmondson’s female figures, which remain some of his most consistently strong sellers at auction. The auction market is strong for William Edmondson, which is no surprise considering his talent and the fact that his sculptures are seldom consigned for sale. Many museums have mounted exhibitions of his works, including Cheekwood in Nashville, Tennessee; the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia; the Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane University in New Orleans; and the McClung Museum and Natural History and Art in Knoxville, Tennessee. Understandably, given that Edmondson hailed from Tennessee, Case’s sales of his work tend to dominate auction results. While it might be assumed that the Edmondson market is primarily based in the South, Stephanie Case noted that her house has had collectors and dealers register from across the United States and Europe to bid. Edmondson’s figural portrayals extend beyond religious subjects. Girl With Braided Hair, a 10½in-tall limestone bust, was purchased directly from the artist in the 1920s or ’30s by Alexander Brook, the New York Realist painter, and later entered the collection of Edmund L. Fuller, who illustrated it in his 1973 book, Visions in Stone: The Sculpture of William Edmondson — still one of the standard references on the artist. After passing through Sotheby’s in 2004, it sold for $100,000 plus buyer’s premium at Freeman’s in Philadelphia in April 2026, against a $50,000-$80,000 estimate.

William Edmondson, Girl With Braided Hair, carved limestone sculpture — William Edmondson’s carved limestone “Girl With Braided Hair,” purchased directly from the artist by painter Alexander Brook in the 1920s or ’30s, sold for $100,000 plus buyer’s premium at Freeman’s, Philadelphia, in April 2026, against a $50,000-$80,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Freeman’s and LiveAuctioneers.

William Edmondson, Two Doves, carved limestone sculpture — William Edmondson’s carved limestone “Two Doves,” exhibited at Cheekwood in 1964, sold for $15,000 plus buyer’s premium at Case Auctions, Knoxville, Tennessee, in January 2026, against a $14,000-$16,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals and LiveAuctioneers.

Edmondson also enjoyed carving animals shown at rest or alert. Two Doves, also exhibited at Cheekwood in 1964, depicts a pair of birds perched together, beaks lowered into their breast feathers, with incised lines describing their wing and tail feathers. It sold for $15,000 plus buyer’s premium at Case Auctions in the same January 2026 sale as the schoolteacher sculpture above, against a $14,000-$16,000 estimate. William Edmondson’s compulsion to carve made him one of the most renowned Black artists of the 20th century as well as the first Black artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art. His minimalist works with a modern bent continue to win rapt fans.

Andrea Valluzzo is an award-winning journalist who has worked for media publications for more than 20 years. Today, she enjoys writing about antiques, collectibles, art and the art of collecting.