Brooklyn Museum: Decorative Arts: Tiger

Tiger

Augustus Aaron Wilson, a retired lighthouse keeper, is best known for his duck decoys and other small carvings. When the Ringling Brothers circus came to town in 1931, he was inspired by Emyr, said to be the largest tiger in captivity, to carve these tigers from salvaged railroad ties and telephone poles that he kept in his barn. The smaller of these two works is thought to be the earlier attempt.

Maker: Augustus Aaron Wilson
Medium: Painted wood, wire
Place Made: Penobscot Harbor, Maine, USA
Dates: 1931
Dimensions: 24 1/2 x 9 x 86 in. (62.2 x 22.9 x 218.4 cm)
Collections: Decorative Arts
Museum Location: This item is on view in American Identities: A New Look, 5th floor
Accession Number: 1999.26.1
Credit Line: Gift of the Guennol Collection
Image: Group, 1999.26.1_1999.26.2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Catalogue Description: Carved wooden figure in form of a standing tiger. Long sleek body with simplified modeling, straight legs. Whiskers formed with thick black metal wires. Painted dark gray with white underside and black stripes.

Collections: Decorative Arts: Tiger