Holy Mountain III
Date
1945
Artist
Horace Pippin, American, b. West Chester, Pennsylvania, 1888–1946
Provenance
Robert Carlen, Philadelphia, 1945 [letter from Horace Pippin to Robert Carlen, 6 August 1945, Robert Carlen Papers, Archives of American Art, microfilm reel no. 4175, frame 87]
Michael Erlichman [listed in unpublished inventory, Robert Carlen Papers, Archives of American Art, Box 6--Miscellaneous Manuscripts]
Robert Carlen, Philadelphia
Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York, by 1947 [lender to Philadelphia Art Alliance Memorial Exhibition]-May 17, 1966
Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966
Revised jz, 5/23/00
Exhibition History
[PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, Philadelphia. "One Hundred and Forty-Second Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture," 26 January-2 March 1947, no. 309. The Holy Mountain (lent by Robert Carlen Gallery)--might be Holy Mountain II or Holy Mountain III?]
PHILADELPHIA ART ALLIANCE. "Horace Pippin Memorial Exhibition," 8 April-4 May 1947, no. 45 [lent by Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York].
NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA, Ottawa. "Some American Paintings from the Collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn," 10-31 January 1957, no. 61, ill. [as "The Holy"]. Tour: MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, 20-31 March; ART GALLERY OF TORONTO, 12 April-26 May; STRATFORD ARENA, Ontario, 1 July-31 August; WINNIPEG ART GALLERY, Manitoba, 6 October-3 November.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION TRAVELING EXHIBITION SERVICE, Washington, DC. "American Primitive Paintings," June 1958-November 1959, no. 57. Tour: PARRISH ART MUSEUM, Southampton, New York, 28 June-27 July 1958; CENTENARY COLLEGE OF LOUISIANA, Shreveport, 1-22 October; JOHN HERRON ART INSTITUTE, Minneapolis, 4-25 November; GEORGE THOMAS HUNTER GALLERY OF ART, Chattanooga, 9-31 December; BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART, Alabama, 15 January-8 February 1959; DAVENPORT MUNICIPAL ART GALLERY, Iowa, 22 February-15 March; FINE ARTS GALLERY OF SAN DIEGO, 15 July-19 September; J.B. SPEED ART MUSEUM, Louisville, 8-30 November.
BOWDOIN COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART, Brunswick, Maine. "The Portrayal of the Negro in American Painting," 15 May-6 -September 1964, no. 74, ill.
CARNEGIE INSTITUTE MUSEUM OF ART, Pittsburgh. "Three Self-Taught Pennsylvania Artists: Hicks, Kane, Pippin," 21 October-4 December 1966, no. 116, ill. Tour: CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART, Washington, DC, 6 January-19 February 1967.
CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART, Washington, DC. "Wilderness," 1 October-14 November 1971, no. 150. (Presented by the National Endowment for the Arts.)
PHILLIPS COLLECTION, Washington, DC. "Paintings by Horace Pippin," 25 February-26 March 1977. Tour: TERRY DINTENFASS GALLERY, New York, 5 April-1 May 1977.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART. "Black American Artists: 1750-1950," 28 September 1976-21 August 1977. Tour: HIGH MUSEUM, Atlanta; DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS; BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "The Animal in Art: Selections from the Hirshhorn Museum Collection," 17 November 1977-15 January 1978, no. 51, ill. p. 16.
EVERSON MUSEUM OF ART, Syracuse. "The Animal Kingdom in American Art," 5 February-2 April 1978, no. 50, ill.
STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM, New York. "Ritual and Myth," 20 June-30 November 1982.
MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE AND CULTURE, Bishop College, Dallas. "Six Black Masters of American Art," 12 February-10 April 1983.
TERRA MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, Evanston, Illinois. "Two Centuries of American Folk Painting," 10 February-21 April 1985.
CHESTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Pennsylvania. "Horace Pippin: A Chester County Artist," 30 January-12 June 1988.
PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF FINE ART, Philadelphia. "I Tell My Heart: The Art of Horace Pippin," 24 January-17 April 1994, cat no. 129, color ill. p. 133. Tour: ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, 28 April-10 July; CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM, 28 July-9 October; BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART, 26 October-1 January 1995; METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, New York, 1 February-30 April.
MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART, New York. "Millenial Dreams: The Utopian Vision in American Folk Art," 13 November 1999-14 May 2000.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "The Collection in Context: Horace Pippin’s 'Holy Mountain III,'"
14 September 2000-14 March 2001, no cat.
BRANDYWINE RIVER MUSEUM OF ART, Chaddsford, Pennsylvania. "Horace Pippin: The Way I See It," 25 April-19 July 2015, no. 67, color ill. front cover, pg. 159.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Masterworks from the Hirshhorn Collection," 9 June 2016-6 August 2017, no cat.
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, Washington, DC. “Outliers and Vanguard American Art,” 28 January 2018-13 May 2018. Tour: HIGH MUSEUM OF ART, Atlanta, 24 June 2018-30 September 2018; LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART, Los Angeles, 18 November 2018-18 March 2019.
MUSEE NATIONAL DES BEAUX-ARTS DU QUEBEC. "America. Between Dreams and Realities: Selections from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection," 9 June-5 September 2022, color ill. p. 41.
Published References
[Note: Image reproduced with statement, "Horace Pippin Explains His Holy Mountain," Art Digest 19 (April 1, 1945): 44 is NOT Holy Mountain III, but rather Holy Mountain I, formerly in the Collection of Encyclopedia Britannica]
RODMAN, SELDEN. Horace Pippin, A Negro Painter in America (New York: Quadrangle, 1947), no. 84.
SADIK, MARVIN S. "The Negro in American Art," Art in America 52 (June 1964), p. 82, ill.
WALTON, WILLIAM. "A Slice from Another Mellon," Washingtonian 3 (August 1968), colorplate p. 71.
JACOBS, JAY. "Collector: Joseph H. Hirshhorn," Art in America 57 (July-August 1969), p. 61, colorplate 3.
LIPMAN, JEAN, ed. "Quality as Well as Quantity," in The Collector in America (New York: Viking, 1971), p. 79.
RODMAN, SELDEN and CAROLE CLEAVER. Horace Pippin: The Artist as a Black American (New York: Doubleday, 1971), p. 84, colorplate 7 and back endpaper.
FINE, ELSA HONIG. The Afro-American Artist: A Search for Identity (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973), p. 119, ill. 160.
LERNER, ABRAM, ed. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1974), p. 734, colorplate 519.
LERNER, ABRAM, et. al. Selected Paintings and Sculpture from the Hirshhorn Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1974), no. 70.
FORGEY, BENJAMIN. "Horace Pippin's 'Personal Spiritual Journey'," Art News 76 (Summer 1977), p. 75.
BATES, SUSAN and ANNE FICKLEN, eds. A Picture Tour of the Smithsonian (New York: American Legacy Press, 1987), ill. p. 40.
SULLIVAN, CHARLES, ed. Children of Promise (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1991), ill. p. 93.
LYONS, MARY E. Starting Home: The Story of Horace Pippin, Painter (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1993?), ill.
HARTIGAN, LYNDA ROSCOE. "Horace Pippin's American Universe," Antiques 145 (January 1994), ill. p. 181.
MONAHAN, ANNE. "I Tell My Heart, The Art of Horace Pippin," American Art Review 6 (February-March 1994), ill. p. 104.
KING-HAMMOND, LESLIE. "Philadelphia: Horace Pippin, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts," Artnews (November 1994), p. 162.
UNSIGNED. African Americans Voices of Triumph: Creative Fire (Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1994), color ill. p. 211.
SCHWARTZ, SANFORD. On Edward Hicks (Seattle: Lucia|Marquand, 2021), color ill. p. 12.
ELLCOCK, STEPHEN. The Book of Change: Images and Symbols to Inspire Revelations and Revolutions (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2021), color ill. p. 267.
AQUIN, STEPHANE, et al. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: The Collection (New York: DelMonico Books, 2022), pl. 61, p. 82.
PEGAN, PHILIP. A Theodicy for a Suffering World with a Hidden God (Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2024), cover ill.
See more items in
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
School
Outsider Art
On View
Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden (Washington, DC), 2nd Floor
Credit Line
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966
Data Source
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Accession Number
66.4069
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
25 1/4 × 30 1/4 in. (64.6 × 76.8 cm)
