The Tuska Collection of Pre-Contact Edgar Tolson Carved Poplar Dolls

In the spring of 1967 Miriam Tuska purchases two anonymously carved articulated dolls at “The Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen” in Berea, Ky. A couple of weeks later she and her husband John Tuska follow a lead to Campton, Ky. where they visit the home of the carver, Edgar Tolson. John a professor of sculptor at the University of Ky. is Edgar’s first contact with the academic art community. Miriam later relates they bought every carving he had for sale. During visits through the summer they propose he expand his single figure carvings to scenes. Learning that Tolson had a 40 year tenure as a preacher leads to the suggestion he carve biblical fables. Tolson soon relates he has envisioned a concept for a Garden of Eden for the Tuska’s. At this time the Tuska’s were concealing their relationship with Edgar though the word of the carver had previously reached a couple of volunteer field workers for a federal program “Grassroots Craftsmen of the Appalachian Mountains” working in Breathitt and Wolfe counties. The volunteers had brought Tolson to the attention of the Smithsonian Museum Shop which took a group of his carvings on consignment. Those figures caught the attention of Ralph Rinzler, Director of the American Folk Art Festival at the Smithsonian who soon visited Tolson and purchased the Tuska’s commissioned Adam & Eve for the Smithsonian’s permanent collection. He also invites Edgar to exhibit at the folk art festival the following year where Tolson publicly carves another Temptation. Michael Hall a college professor of sculptor at U.K. was also on the trail in 1967, but temporarily sidetracked when directed to a dead end by the Tuska’s, in his quest to discover Tolson’s identity. Once the carver’s anonymity is more broadly revealed Hall becomes the major collector and promoter of Tolson placing Edgar’s works among major collections in the day. Tolson’s doll carvings by 1968 evolve to more complex tableaux’s fixed to flat board bases. He still did individual carvings though now most often affixed to a base plate becoming statues. Miriam Tuska was quick to defend that she and her husband did no tutoring beyond suggesting to focus on familiar pious themes and to expand his carvings to vignette’s. The tableaux format was their contribution which identifies Tolson’s legacy. She and John felt it important that the innocence of the artist not be tampered with by the academic establishment any further than those nudges. Dare to fault that level of intervention.

The ten figures in the group image were among 90 entries in the 1980 exhibit “Edgar Tolson: Kentucky Gothic” held at the University of Kentucky before traveling to the Cranbrook Academy of Art the following year. The Tuskas purchased two additional dolls on the initial visit, though not lent to the exhibit, which are inclusive of this offering. Those can be seen in the support images as a couple. The ten were exhibited as figures 13 ,15 ,18 ,19 ,20 ,21 ,22 ,24 ,25 & 26 in the accompanying catalog. Figures 13, 19, & 26 are illustrated. The people differ in facial features and costume creating wonder that one or many are carved as portraiture. Soon he reduces the human form further to standardized representations divided only by gender to great effect. Some of the ten have already transitioned suggesting they might have been carved close or in 1967 where others perhaps somewhat earlier. The exhibit catalog dates all the carvings conveniently to 1967 when collected though the Tuskas bought all his carvings on their initial visit which probably included some which had be hanging around the house the past few years. This a collection that firmly tracks the brief early phase from animals and plaques, often given to friends, to Tolson representing people. The form which propelled his career into instant fame. Within months his compositions would garner national attention to a degree which likely exceeded any of his loftiest thoughts. These an important historic study group of Edgar Tolson’s oeuvre.

CONDITION: One figure has lost the front section of a foot. The smallest figure has a small chip to toe of a shoe. The figure of a man with arm bent at a right angle has glue residue at his shoulder. Well kept, basically stored, with even color having not been exposed long to circulating atmosphere nor sun light. Excepting the three imperfections as made condition in an excellent state of preservation. STRUCTURE: Women in dresses have applied legs. Two figures with applied extended arms. A single figure has applied hands. Hat is applied on one. All applied elements are original construction with every figure carved from a single block of poplar save the appliqués mentioned which are more often a soft conifer. Eye areas and occasionally teeth are penciled.

Much of the information in the first paragraph was taken from the exhibit catalog. Another source was Julia Ardery’s chronicle of the artist, “The Temptation”, which is a fascinating journalistic exploration of the artist and the sociological furor which erupted soon after Tolson’s discovery by the art world.