African Master Carvers: Known and Famous
- Special Exhibition
Julia and Larry Pollock Focus Gallery

Helmet mask (Epa Orangun) (detail), presumably c. 1920. Carved by the Yoruba artist Bamgboye (1893–1978). Nigeria, Ekiti region, Odo-Owa village. Wood, pigment; h. 137.2 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund and Gift of Mary Grant Price, 1991.165.
About The Exhibition
African Master Carvers: Known and Famous addresses the false assumption that all African artists who created tradition-based art were anonymous, even though few historical artists south of the Sahara are known by name, and biographical data about their training and life is scarce. Through fifteen stellar examples from different cultural regions in West, Central, and Southern Africa, the exhibition explores the lives and works of a select group of master carvers who enjoyed recognition and sometimes even fame during their lifetime. Also included are the artists’ biographies and, when available, their portrait photographs.