Virgil Ledford

Virgil Ledford

Artisans

Cherokee Indians

Handicraft

Indigenous American wood-carving

Manners and customs

Wood-carvers

Wood-carving -- Appalachian Region, Southern

This October 1968 photograph was taken of Virgil Ledford while he was sanding the neck of a nearly completed wooden giraffe. Virgil Ledford (b. 1940) was born in the Birdtown Community on the Qualla Boundary. He is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Ledford began carving as a child while still in elementary school; his grandfather was also a carver. Later, he studied with famed sculptor Amanda Crowe. Throughout his life, Ledford carved detailed images of wildlife animals. In 1974, he was honored with a solo exhibition at Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, where he exhibited 21 pieces in cherry, buckeye, walnut, and mahogany. The exhibition was accompanied by a four-page brochure produced by Qualla Arts, the Indian Arts and Craft Board, and the North Carolina Arts Council. The photographer's name is unknown.

Unknown

Permanent Collection

Hunter Library Digital Collections, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723

1968-10-01

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

jpg

photographs

StillImage

11083

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/11083

2010-09-27

All rights reserved. For permissions and use, contact Southern Highland Craft Guild Archives, Asheville, NC 28815;

Qualla Boundary

Appalachian Region, Southern

1.5" x 1"(dimension)

Cherokee Traditions