Thaddeus Mosley American Treasure

The Museum celebrates American creativity in this 250th anniversary year of the Declaration of Independence through a series of special installations: American Treasures.

Most of us don’t see artistic possibility in a fallen limb or discarded scrap of timber. Yet American sculptor Thaddeus Mosley (1926-2026) harnessed pieces of hardwood as his starting point for creative expression. In brawny strokes of hatchet and gouge, he shaped wood into forms that defied their heft. He faceted their surfaces to catch and glint light in ways that animate them. The achievements of this polymath creative from western Pennsylvania’s coal country—recognized as a brilliant sculptor in Pittsburgh since the 1960s, he was first known as a Pittsburgh Courier sportswriter and also known nationally (and internationally) as an essayist in Ebony and Jet—brought comparison to the likes of biomorphic sculptors Constantine Brancusi (1876-1957) and Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988). In the end, his slender totems, graceful forms, and cantilevered designs are enduring protagonists in the canon of American art.

This installation was catalyzed by the generous loan of Untitled Standing Sculpture (2010) from the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, with additional loans and assistance from Karma, New York, and the artist’s estate.