Sara Lynn Henry collection related to Elijah Pierce

Elijah Pierce, the son of a former enslaved person, was born near Baldwyn, Mississippi, in 1892. Upon leaving his father's farm, Pierce apprenticed himself to a barber and, some time before 1920, received a license to preach from the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Baldwyn. After the death of his first wife, Pierce joined the Great Migration to the North, first working on railroad bridge gangs and then resuming work as a barber. In 1924 he moved to Columbus, Ohio, to be near his second wife's family. For nearly fifty years, Pierce worked as a barber and preached on weekends at county fairs, schools, and churches. In the late 1920s or early 1930s, he began to carve intricate bas-relief sculptures that illuminate biblical scenes and celebrate achievements of African American heroes such as Joe Louis and Marion Anderson. Pierce's The Book of Wood, thirty-three scenes from the life of Christ, depicts Jesus as a black man. In 1954, Pierce opened his own barbershop with a studio in the back room. Bolstered by recognition from both artists and museums in the early 1970s, Pierce began to carve full-time. His barbershop, transformed into the Elijah Pierce Art Gallery, received visitors from all over the world.

This collection was created by Sara Lynn Henry, PhD. Henry is an art historian, curator, and writer who knew of Elijah Pierce from having taught at Ohio State University for a year and a half. She visited his barbershop and studio, where she photographed and interviewed him in 1974, the year after he had won the International Prize in Folk Art.