Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Praying Hands on Dirt Mound. US 66, Webb City, Missouri
Praying Hands on Dirt Mound. US 66, Webb City, Missouri

Praying Hands on Dirt Mound. US 66, Webb City, Missouri

Former TitlePraying Hands on Shale Hill, US 66, Webb City, MO
Artist Jim Dow (American, born 1942)
Date1973
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 7 15/16 × 9 11/16 inches (20.14 × 24.61 cm)
Sheet: 8 × 9 15/16 inches (20.32 × 25.22 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation
Object number2018.51.42
SignedSigned on sheet verso, bottom, in pencil.
InscribedTitled, dated, and editioned on sheet verso, bottom, in pencil: "PRAYING HANDS ON SHALE HILL. WEBB CITY, MO 1973 #1/25"
Markingsnone
Edition/State/Proofed. 1/25
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionImage of sculpture depicting hands with palms together as if praying; it is mounted to an open metal structure and installed at the top of a rocky hillside.Gallery Label
Hoisted atop scaffolding, a sculpture of praying hands stands on a grassless knoll. At the time Dow photographed it, the young artist Jack Dawson was in the process of building and financing it through small local donations. By including the steel and metal understructure, Dow emphasizes the frailty of the unfinished piece, which was built to serve as a symbol of uplift during difficult times.
Provenance
The Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2018;   
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2018.
Copyright© Jim Dow
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.