ABOUT THIS ARTWORK 
 
This haunting skull, carved in wood and painted, was made by an unknown American folk artist in the 19th or 20th century. Skulls in art originated with the Aztecs, who made carved skulls in honor of their Gods and the dead to ensure future life. In Mexico’s “Day of the Dead” skull face-painting similarly pays homage to those who have died. In medieval Europe, Memento Mori paintings included skulls to express the transience of life, while Danse Macabre allegories depicted people dancing with decaying corpses. In 17th century Holland, “vanitas” paintings used skulls to symbolize the futility of pursuing wealth and other vanities.  In 20th-century fine art, Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso are just two of many artists who used skull imagery to make artistic statements. Today skulls are a common motif in art, fashion, and decoration. 
 
ARTWORK DETAILS
Artwork title: The Skull
Edition: Limited edition of 1000
Proof of Ownership: Certification on the Ethereum blockchain under the ERC1155 protocol. Each artwork is delivered privately and directly to collectors as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that guarantee proof of ownership.
Format: Pieces consist of PNG files sized 2160x3840 pixels - 150 dpi.
Medium: Sculpture, Folk Art
Artwork Materials: Carved and painted wood
Contract Address: 0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e
ID: 2749212597480566...
 
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Herbert Waide Hemphill Jr. (1929-1998), who donated the wooden skull seen here to the Smithsonian along with over 600 other folk artworks, had a passion for finding and preserving the work of the lone and forgotten artist. He originally wanted to be an artist himself, but his forte proved to be collecting. He amassed 3,000 objects, ranging from 18th- and 19th-century paintings and shop signs to carved canes and tramp art.  He also collected folk art made by living artists, which few others did at the time. Hemphill was the founder of the Museum of American Folk Art in New York, to which he donated nearly 400 items from his collection. 
 
COLLECTION CREDITS
Historical curatorship: HARI - Historical Art Research Institute (HARI Editions)
Artwork: Unidentified
Year of original publication: 19th or 20th century
Post-production: HARI - Historical Art Research Institute (HARI Editions)
Digital art supervisor: Marie-Lou Desmeules
Editorial: Braden Phillips
Historical research: Evangelos Rosios, Braden Phillips
Executive production: Victor Zabrockis
 
RIGHTS OVERVIEW
Source of artwork: Smithsonian American Art Museum
Underlying work rights: CC0
Digital copyrights: CC0