Creation Date

Sculpture creation date: 1970

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Description

Black and white photograph of a large wooden sculpture of a young woman with dark hair and outstretched arms set in a grassy yard among other outdoor sculptures at the Langlais Art Preserve in Cushing, Maine. Front view of “Local Girl (#32)” by sculptor Bernard “Blackie” Langlais, created in 1970 from painted wood on a concrete foundation and inspired by the figure of Christina Olson from Andrew Wyeth’s painting “Christina’s World”. The sculpture depicts a woman seated on the ground with her torso and head raised, her elongated body and arms constructed from stacked and carved wooden blocks that form a simplified dress and limbs, while her head features a long neck, carved facial features, and painted dark hair that falls around her shoulders. One arm reaches diagonally forward, ending in a broad plank hand that rests on the grass, emphasizing her effort to pull herself along, echoing Wyeth’s image while giving the figure an exaggerated, angular form suited to Langlais’s rough-hewn wooden style. The sculpture is sited on the former property of Bernard and Helen Friend Langlais, now the Langlais Art Preserve in Cushing, Maine, where it occupies an open lawn bordered by small buildings, utility poles, and additional tall wooden sculptures of animals and abstract forms that frame the figure within a broader outdoor installation. 1994. Unidentified, photographer. (See p16252-p16254, p16959-p16975) (See also NA4654.)(NA4800.)

Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) (1990-1995) was a nationwide survey that ran from 1990-1995 documenting America’s outdoor sculpture. Established in 1990, SOS! helped educate local communities about America’s endangered sculptural heritage. The Maine Arts Commission was one of 106 organizations to participate in this survey.

Topic

Folk art, Sculpture

Collection

MF161

Series Number

NA4800

Identifier

p16962

Rights and Access Note

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for non-commercial uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). For more information, contact Special Collections.

Existence and Location of Originals

Located at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress: AFC 2012/047 https://lccn.loc.gov/2013655211.

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Keywords

Save Outdoor Sculpture

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Rights Statement

In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted