Spring and Her Dolls

Name: Spring and Her Dolls

Made by and When: Goldie Wilson (Original Dolls by Goldie), 2023

Material: Cloth, paint, human and synthetic hair fiber, glue

Marks:  The body is signed and dated by the artist

Heights: 19, 8-1/2, and 10 inches

Hair, Eyes, Mouths: The largest doll has a handmade black curly wig made of human and synthetic hair. The top is accented with a handmade bow that holds a right-sided bun in place. The smaller dolls have three applied synthetic braids that create visible bangs underneath the headwraps. All dolls have hand-painted facial features.

Clothes: The dolls wear hand-sewn dresses. The 19-inch and 10-inch dolls’ dresses are made from floral material. The smaller doll wears an off-white dress with floral accents.  Each doll wears pantalettes made from the same fabric as their dresses and hand-painted black shoes. The largest doll’s shoes have ribbon bow accents at the ankles and toes. The smaller dolls wear headwraps that match the fabric of their dresses. The apron of the largest doll is decorated with a beautiful hand-painted face. The painted face includes an applied floral fabric headwrap.

Other: Goldie Wilson has made original and one-of-a-kind dolls in porcelain and cloth for several decades. In the doll-collecting community, her name is synonymous with beautifully and uniquely crafted black dolls that masterfully capture facial features of Black people. This hand-painted one-of-a-kind cloth doll and the two smaller dolls were made specifically for the curator by Goldie. The artist made and designed everything, including the wigs, for this custom doll trio. A dated and signed certificate of authenticity included a blank space for the curator to fill in the name chosen for the doll.

Gallery

See additional Goldie Wilson doll installations here. Get to know the artist here. View the Goldie Wilson Pinterest board here.

See other OOAK doll installations in DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum here.

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