The Sculpture of John Rhoden

Eighteen sculptures from the exhibition Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden have been given to the Birmingham Museum of Art’s permanent collection.

In 2017, the John Rhoden Estate selected the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) to assume the responsibility of preserving and promoting John Rhoden’s artistic legacy. The Rhoden Collection included over 300 works of art and twenty-two linear feet of archival materials. PAFA catalogued and digitized Rhoden’s archive at johnrhoden.pafaarchives.org and the museum is dispersing Rhoden’s work to museum collections across the world. Because Rhoden is an artist from Birmingham who had his first major solo exhibition at the BMA, PAFA gave the Museum this large group of his work to ensure that Rhoden’s legacy is also preserved in his hometown.

The group of sculptures spans Rhoden’s practice, from the earliest works he created in the 1940s shortly after he moved from Birmingham to New York City, to works he made in the 1990s, not long before his death. It also spans the materials he sculpted throughout his long and prolific career: cast metal, wood, and stone.

In 1985, the BMA presented the exhibition Sculpture by John Rhoden. The exhibition was Rhoden’s first monographic museum show, and at least five of the works joining the BMA’s permanent collection were part of the exhibition, including Blue Eyes, Indonesian Legend; Realistic Bull; Priest of the Borealis; I’ve Got it Hidden; and Agilita. These works join other important pieces coming to the BMA’s collection: Laika (Russian Space Dog); Mask; Adam and Eve II; Sumo Wrestlers; Seated Figure; Portrait of Richanda; Sandpainting; Contentment; a large abstract female figure, a nude torso in marble; a nude torso in wood; an abstract figure panel; and a group of seven abstract figures. This body of sculpture shows Rhoden’s global influences, amassed during his decades of travel supported by artist fellowships and the US Department of State.

Featuring the exhibition alongside these major gifts to the Museum’s collection has provided an opportunity to elevate Rhoden’s artistic practice in his hometown. This gift highlights Rhoden’s importance to Birmingham and the BMA, helping us to share an expanded view of our city’s creative legacy. With this gift to the collection, the BMA will become a key southern repository of Rhoden’s work and a home for research on his practice.

Image Credits

From left to right

1. John Rhoden (American, 1916–2001), Sandpainting, 1957, Copper, bronze and glass on stone base; Gift from the John Walter Rhoden and Richanda Phillips Rhoden Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2024.214; image credit: Erin Croxton
2. John Rhoden (American, 1916–2001), Adam and Eve [Adamo ed Eva], about 1954, Bronze on stone base; Gift from the John Walter Rhoden and Richanda Phillips Rhoden Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2024.211; image credit: Erin Croxton
3. John Rhoden (American, 1916–2001), Group of Seven Abstract Figures, undated, bronze on marble base; Gift from the John Walter Rhoden and Richanda Phillips Rhoden Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2024.220; image credit: Erin Croxton
4. John Rhoden (American, 1916–2001), Sumo Wrestlers, 1980, bronze on marble base, 24 × 10 × 14 inches; Gift from the John Walter Rhoden and Richanda Phillips Rhoden Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2024.205; image credit: Erin Croxton
5. John Rhoden (American, 1916–2001), Priest of the Borealis, 1980, bronze with metal base, 30 ¼ × 13 × 7 ½ inches; Gift from the John Walter Rhoden and Richanda Phillips Rhoden Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2024.203; image credit: Sahar Coston-Hardy/Esto
6. John Rhoden (American, 1916–2001), Agilita, 1963, bronze on marble base, 27 ¾ × 28 x 20 inches; Gift from the John Walter Rhoden and Richanda Phillips Rhoden Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2024.216; image credit: Sahar Coston-Hardy/Esto