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Nancy Elizabeth Prophet

Walk Among the Lilies
Recent Acquisition

Description

Maker

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet (American, 1890-1960), (RISD 1918)

Title

Walk Among the Lilies

Year

ca. 1931-1932

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

61 x 45.7 x 5.7 cm (24 x 18 x 2 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: The artist’s signature “Elizabeth Prophet” is carved in cursive across the human figure’s chest.

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund

Object Number

2023.15

Type

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet
I Will Not Bend An Inch
Feb 17, 2024 – Aug 04, 2024

Label copy

This idyllic depiction is complicated by the appearance of a menacing face above the woman’s head. Prophet created two other known versions of this work, currently considered to be lost or destroyed, that presented the same imagery or replaced the threatening entity with radiating circular forms suggesting sunlight.

The source of this work’s title is unknown, but it may be a biblical reference, specifically to Song of Solomon 2:16: “My beloved is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies.” Perhaps the entity in the upper left represents malevolent forces—racism, sexism, hunger, poverty, and a professional artist’s skepticism and doubt—that threatened Prophet throughout her life. 

–Dominic Molon, Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art

Use & Feedback

Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet (American, 1890-1960)
Walk Among the Lilies, ca. 1931-1932
Wood with polychromy (colored paint)
61 x 45.7 x 5.7 cm (24 x 18 x 2 1/4 inches)
Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund 2023.15

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