Curator's View - Elijah Pierce

Nationally acclaimed self-taught artist Elijah Pierce, who lived most of his adult in Columbus just blocks from the Museum of Art, was a barber by trade and a preacher by avocation. Many of his wood carvings are religious subjects, and he used them to illustrate his sermons. The Book of Wood, his most elaborate creation, illustrates several scenes from the New Testament. Pierce took the work on various preaching trips during the 1930s and '40s; in later years, it was a centerpiece of his barbershop ministry. The Columbus Museum of Art is home to the most extensive collection of Pierce's work.