Cooking-on-Saturday

Bolling, a self-taught African American sculptor from Richmond, Virginia, made small carvings in wood that chronicle with astute narrative detail the Black working class in the segregated American South. A store porter by day and an artist by night, he drew thematic inspiration from the daily work and leisure of local residents, including his friends and neighbors. His celebrated Days of the Week series pays tribute to the lives and labors of domestic workers who followed a rigid schedule of activities on specific days—from washing and ironing to sewing and cooking. The sculpture is composed of two blocks of carefully conjoined wood that the artist carved directly with a jackknife and a penknife, paying close attention to surface texture and grain direction.