Doll, Amos Fortune
Dublin Core
Title
Doll, Amos Fortune
Subject
History
Recreational Objects
Toys
Arts
Description
Doll of Amos Fortune, African American male, gray hair and beard, black hat, blue double breasted coat with gold buttons, black stockings and black shoes with buckle.
Starting in the 1960s, I. Roberta Bell, a Chicago school teacher, created a set of 26 dolls to help teach African American history to her students. Each doll was created in the likeness of African Americans who made significant contributions to history. A limited number of copies of the dolls were made over the years.
Their heads and hands were shaped from porcelain clay and skin colors baked into it using a kiln. Faces were hand-painted and wigs of mohair adorn them. The bodies are filled with saw dust. Some dolls took longer than others to make. For instance, creating Harriet Tubman’s head took less than a week while Frederick Douglass’s head took one year.
In 1970, Bell became the first African American to join the National Institute of American Doll Artists.
Starting in the 1960s, I. Roberta Bell, a Chicago school teacher, created a set of 26 dolls to help teach African American history to her students. Each doll was created in the likeness of African Americans who made significant contributions to history. A limited number of copies of the dolls were made over the years.
Their heads and hands were shaped from porcelain clay and skin colors baked into it using a kiln. Faces were hand-painted and wigs of mohair adorn them. The bodies are filled with saw dust. Some dolls took longer than others to make. For instance, creating Harriet Tubman’s head took less than a week while Frederick Douglass’s head took one year.
In 1970, Bell became the first African American to join the National Institute of American Doll Artists.
Creator
I. Roberta Bell
Identifier
0086-0223-0001
Medium
Ceramic
Hair
Cloth
Physical Object Item Type Metadata
Donor
Hilda and Milton Geuther
Continent
North America
Country
United States
State
Illinois
City
Chicago
Collection
Citation
I. Roberta Bell, “Doll, Amos Fortune,” University of Arkansas Museum, accessed May 3, 2024, https://uamuseum.omeka.net/items/show/75595.