For his nudes, Bolling gave free rein to his imagination, creating stylized figures that are exceptionally sensual and fleshy. Bolling's women are mature and slightly coy with their weight on one leg, the other leg bent slightly with toe down, and their heads turned. Bolling attenuated or exaggerated body proportions in an effort to reflect the abstraction of the human figure by other contemporary artists.
Titles with an asterisk (*) were displayed in the exhibition at the Library of Virginia. The PDF symbol indicates catalog entries and images for works discovered after April 1, 2006. Click on the PDF symbol (
) to access the entries on these recent discoveries. Exhibited works known before that date are published in the catalog, Freeing Art from Wood: The Sculpture of Leslie Garland Bolling, available from the Virginia Shop at the Library of Virginia, or online.
This list of titles was compiled from exhibition pamphlets and catalogs, published reviews and articles, and correspondence.
| The Female Form | |
|---|---|
) | Beautiful Womanhood* 1931 Courtesy of Constance Porter Uzelac. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA |
| Curves Ca. 1935 | |
| Dancer [see Salome I] | |
) | Despair* Ca. 1935 Courtesy of Harriette D. Davidson. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA |
| Enchanted Grace Ca. 1928 | |
| Figure Study Ca. 1933 | |
| Half Moon [see New Moon] | |
| Inspiration Ca. 1933 | |
| Meditation Ca. 1935 | |
| Mother and Child Ca. 1926 | |
| My Idol Ca. 1937 | |
| My Inspiration 1930s | |
| My Model Ca. 1935 | |
![New Moon [also known as Half Moon]](javascript:popImage('img/titles/new_moon_large.jpg','New Moon [also known as Half Moon]','New Moon [also known as Half Moon]. Courtesy of Constance Porter Uzelac. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA')) | New Moon [also known as Half Moon]* 1933 Courtesy of Constance Porter Uzelac. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA |
| Nude Ca. 1935 | |
![Nude [Painted]](javascript:popImage('img/titles/nude_painted_large.jpg','Nude [Painted]','Nude [Painted]. Courtesy of Marshall Goodman. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA')) | Nude [Painted]* Ca. 1933 Courtesy of Marshall Goodman. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA |
) | Nude with Book* 1930s Courtesy of Avis E. Holmes, Patty D. Brown, and Reuben B. Greene. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA |
) | Queen of Dreams* Ca. 1937 Courtesy of Carol Hoffman. Photography by Suzanne Van Bylevelt |
| Reclining Figure Ca. 1933 | |
| Reclining Figure 2 Ca. 1937 | |
| Salome I [also known as Dancer] Ca. 1933 | |
| Salome II Ca. 1935 | |
) | Salome III* 1935 Courtesy of Marlene Jackson. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA |
) | Standing Woman* Ca. 1934 Courtesy of Jerome Gray. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA |
| Study of Curves Ca. 1937 | |
| Woman and Babe 1930s | |
) | Woman Brushing Her Hair* 1938 Courtesy of Jeffrey W. Parker. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA |
','Woman Brushing Her Hair (version 2). Courtesy of E. H. Thompson. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA')) | Woman Brushing Her Hair (version 2)* 1941 Courtesy of E. H. Thompson. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA |
) | Woman’s Head* 1932 Photograph courtesy of the James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection of American Negro Arts and Letters, Beinecke Library, Yale University |