William Christenberry
b. Tuscaloosa, AL, 1936; lives and works in Washington, D.C.
Title:
Coleman’s Cafe (I)
Date:
1982
Medium:
mixed media, painted wood, and clay soil
Size:
18 3/8 x 25 3/4 x 36 1/2 in. (47 x 65.4 x 92.7 cm)
Gift of Mr. Robert Lehrman
Accession Number:
1986.40
With an affinity for everyday structures and objects, William Christenberry maps the political and social terrain of the American South. Coleman’s Café depicts a small roadside market and luncheonette in rural Alabama. This sculpture documents the vernacular landscape of Hale Country, where Christenberry was born in 1936. Coleman’s Café is painstakingly constructed from photographs Christenberry made of the actual site over many years, and sits on a bed of red Alabama earth.
