Elijah Pierce

Elijah Pierce (1892-1984) was an internationally recognized woodcarver and folk artist who began carving wood as a young boy on the Baldwyn, Mississippi, farm where he was born in 1892. In the early 1920s, he carved a small elephant for his wife as a gift, and in response to her affection for the animal, he promised her an entire zoo and continued to carve free-standing animals throughout his career. He arrived in Columbus, Ohio, in 1924, where he lived and worked for 60 years until his retirement in 1980. For most of his life, he earned his living as a barber in a two-room barber shop that he built on this site in 1954, and the shop also served as the gallery where he displayed his carvings. Also a licensed preacher, he often told stories containing important lessons about life and used his carvings to illustrate a fable, proverb, or Bible story. Along with this religious focus, his work included secular themes such as politics, current affairs, sports, his autobiography, and his menagerie. Although he did not seek fame, his work won recognition in art exhibitions and has been displayed in art galleries and museums throughout the world, and he is recognized as one of America’s leading folk artists.

Columbus, Ohio · United States