Elijah Pierce (Ohio 1892-1984) Man Encircled By a Serpent with Figures.

Elijah Pierce (Ohio, 1892-1984) Man Encircled By a Serpent with Figures. Signed and dated on cardboard backing "E.Pierce 2-4-1973" and "May God Bless You," along with Pierce's personal address label. Polychrome painted relief carved wood, 18 3/4 x 11 1/4 in., in likely original molded wood frame. Note: Elijah Pierce was a self-taught artist who lived most of his adult life in Columbus, Ohio, working as a barber and a part-time preacher. Many of his wood carvings are religious subjects, and he used them to illustrate his sermons. His secular carvings show his love of baseball, boxing, comics, movies, and his interest in national politics. In the early 1970s his work became known both nationally and internationally in the world of folk art.