Inscribed on reverse by artist: "Head, over life size", "1958", "Elizabeth Prophet". [The word "mask" has been crossed out at the top of the page.]
In 1958 the artist began living with the family of Edward J. Carley. She stayed with them for six months. Of her time with the family, Carley stated, "She made a plaster-of-paris mask of one of the children..." (Kirschenbaum, 49) It is unknown if she modeled this or other pieces after them as well. Prophet died two years later in December of 1960. The Carley family is credited with providing Prophet a proper funeral and burial as she had no heirs. (Leininger-Miller, 65)
Work done by the artist around this time has not been documented and it remains unknown as to whether or not the date of this photograph corresponds to the creation of the piece it depicts.
Bibliography (1) Kirschenbaum, Blossom S. "Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Sculptor." Sage: A Scholarly Journal on Black Women, Vol. IV, No.1, Spring 1987, pp.45-51. (2) Leininger-Miller, Theresa. "New Negro Artists in Paris: African American Painters and Sculptors in the City of Light, 1922-1934." New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers U Press, 2001. Print.
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