YOU GOTTA MEET MR. PIERCE!

A blocked young artist finds inspiration in the wood carvings and reminiscences of a local barber.

The authors introduce readers to Elijah Pierce, a self-taught Black Columbus, Ohio, artist whose distinctive painted carvings—which range from free-standing animals to low-relief portraits and Bible scenes—are sampled both in a closing gallery and incorporated into Mack-Watkins’ woodcut illustrations. In a casual but meaningful conversation with a fictive young Black customer, Mr. Pierce personably recalls how the childhood gift of a pocketknife led to a lifetime of turning stories into art, recording memorable incidents, and seeing possibilities for new works everywhere: “The more you look, the more you see.” Mr. Pierce is right, the budding artist realizes, looking over the arrays of figures and framed bas-reliefs crowding the shop’s walls and coming away with both a newly carved gift from the artist and fresh ideas for a future art project. Pierce eluded notice (outside his local community, anyway) until shortly before his death in 1984, but his work hangs in museums now, and, along with further biographical details, an afterword lists exhibits and honors. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An intimate encounter with an artist who should be better known.