Name: First Generation African American
Made by and When: Original Lee Middleton Dolls/Middleton Doll Company, 2003
Material: Vinyl head, arms, legs; stuffed cloth body
Marks: (On the head) Footprint impression EH/2001 / #071101 / (3) ©2001 / Lee Middleton Original Dolls / Eva Helland; has a cloth body tag that bears the Lee Middleton logo on the front
Height: 26 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Dark brown wig styled in three braids, dark brown stationary eyes with applied upper eyelashes, closed mouth
Clothes: White Victorian-style child’s dress with lace-trimmed collar, slip, pantaloons; black socks and boots
Other: Made in a limited edition of 2000 and sculpted by Eva Helland for Middleton Doll Company, First Generation African American from the Artist Studio Collection: Faces of America represents a child from the 1800s. A certificate of authenticity and a miniature bible were included with the doll.
The name of the original company, Lee Middleton Original Dolls, was changed to Middleton Doll Company in 2001.
Gallery
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Debbie, Did my comment get to you? Thank you! Marjorie
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Hi Marorie,
Your first comment (which you also sent to me by email) did not save to this site. I have copied it below.
“The precision and integrity of her name reflects the creativity and brilliance of the artist. The doll is dressed to perfection and could not be more beautiful with a visage that goes straight to the heart. Remembrance of children born in prior decades will be, for many, unavoidable. Lee Middelton has succeeded in making a statement larger than some would imagine at first blush.”
I agree with your assessment of this lovely doll. Eva Helland for Lee Middleton Dolls captured the essence of a child–born in any time period–so beautifully with First Generation African American. While I did not mention it in the installation, I believe the doll represents a biracial child of the 1800s. I remember reading that in the doll’s literature or promotional information before the doll was released in 2003. The company’s past catalogs of dolls are no longer online for reference purposes.
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So now I understand because Lee Middleton would be well into her 80s now, is that right?
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I’m not sure how old Lee Middleton Ulrick would be if she were alive now. Unfortunately, the doll community and those who knew and loved her lost her in January 1997 due to a fatal heart attack. Other doll artists began sculpting for the remaining owners of the Middleton Doll Company. Reva Schick (now deceased, too) was the first artist to sculpt for the company after Lee’s death.
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