# Edgar Tolson

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**Edgar Tolson** (1904–1984) was a woodcarver from [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky) who became a well-known [folk artist](/source/Folk_art).[1]

He was born in [Lee City](/source/Lee_City,_Kentucky), [Wolfe County, Kentucky](/source/Wolfe_County,_Kentucky) as the fourth of eleven children and educated through the sixth grade. He worked as a [carpenter](/source/Carpentry) and [stonemason](/source/Stonemasonry) and was married twice, fathering eighteen children in all, one of whom is Paul Tolson, a local of Campton, who is also a gifted carver and sketch artist. Although Tolson began working in the tradition of the [Appalachian](/source/Appalachia) woodcarvers before him, after suffering a [stroke](/source/Stroke) in 1957, he became a full-time woodcarver and artist, and his subject matter grew increasingly idiosyncratic.[2]

Tolson first came to national attention through the Grassroots Craftsmen, an initiative of [Lyndon Johnson](/source/Lyndon_Johnson)'s [War on Poverty](/source/War_on_Poverty) that helped Appalachian craftspeople to sell their works. [Ralph Rinzler](/source/Ralph_Rinzler) of the [Smithsonian Institution](/source/Smithsonian_Institution) was impressed by Tolson's figures, and included them in the 1971 [Festival of American Folklife](/source/Smithsonian_Folklife_Festival). [University of Kentucky](/source/University_of_Kentucky) professor Michael Hall also became Tolson's primary dealer at this time, and his work was included in the 1973 [Whitney Biennial](/source/Whitney_Museum).

Tolson is best known for his "Fall of Man" cycle, a series of carvings portraying the story of Adam and Eve.[2]

He died in [Campton, Kentucky](/source/Campton,_Kentucky) in 1984.[3]

The Edgar Tolson Folk Art Library at [Morehead State University](/source/Morehead_State_University) is named after him.[4]

## References

1. ["Edgar Tolson - Artist, Fine Art, Auction Records, Prices, Biography for Edgar Tolson"](http://www.askart.com/askart/t/edgar_tolson/edgar_tolson.aspx). *Ask Art, the Artist's Bluebook*. Retrieved 2013-04-16.

1. ["Artist Profile - Edgar Tolson"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130130064301/http://foundationstart.org/artists/edgar-tolson/). *Foundation for Self Taught Artists*. Archived from [the original](http://foundationstart.org/artists/edgar-tolson/) on 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2013-04-16.

1. ["Adam and Eve by Edgar Tolson"](http://www.americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=24183). *Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery*. Retrieved 2013-04-16.

1. ["About MSU: Named Spaces and Places"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130406102455/http://www2.moreheadstate.edu/aboutmsu/index.aspx?id=30506). *Morehead State University*. Archived from [the original](http://www2.moreheadstate.edu/aboutmsu/index.aspx?id=30506) on 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2013-04-16.

## External links

- [Tolson's entry on the Top 50 Works at the University of Kentucky Art Museum](http://www.uky.edu/ArtMuseum/luce/Top50/50/pages/Tolson_jpg.htm)
- [Oral history interview with Edgar Tolson, 1981 July 30](http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-edgar-tolson-11802), Archives of American Art

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edgar Tolson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Tolson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Tolson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.