Design

Fairhope, Alabama, 1929-30
Glazed stoneware, painted iron
Unmarked
H: 36 3/8, W: 11 1/2, D: 19 in.

Notes

A period photograph of the present lot with Esherick's daughter Mary in the background (Wharton Esherick, Giraffe, photograph on cardboard, nd., Wharton Esherick Museum Collection) is shown in the last image of this lot; this photograph is not included in the sale.

While residing in the utopian community of Fairhope, Alabama in late 1929 and early 1930, Wharton Esherick produced twenty-two large ceramic animals (intended for use as garden ornaments) with the assistance of local potter Peter McAdam. Some of these works were shown at the Arden Gallery in New York in the spring of 1930, alongside ceramic works by Henry Varnum Poor. Most of the sculptures did not sell and remained in Esherick's studio, passing into the collection of the Wharton Esherick Museum after his death. The present lot was purchased directly from the artist at his studio, years after it was produced.