Sequoyah

Sequoyah - $2,500
Edition of 50  •  21" tall with granite base

About This Work
This is an historically accurate bronze sculpture of Sequoyah. Beneath the title, "Sequoyah” (A.K.A George Gist) is a phrase written in Cherokee that says “The Greatest of His Race,” and Sequoyah certainly was that. Prior to his remarkable development of the Cherokee Syllabus, the Cherokee's only form of communication, was by word of mouth. There were no written papers documenting their history other than what the white man had recorded. It was thought that only the white man could communicate on paper ("Talking Leaves," as they were known to the Cherokee). 

This sculpture depicts him exactly as he was, as described in historical documents and the only known painting of him from 1836. The tree stump suggests the bark that he used to inscribe his alphabet (syllabus), and the leaves at his feet represent the “Talking Leaves." I posed him as a proud and dignified man, truly “The Greatest of his Race."