Named for a day of the week—Aunt Monday, Sister Tuesday, Mama on Wednesday, On Thursday—Gossip, Cousin–on–Friday, Cooking on Saturday—each of the six sculptures depicts weekly chores and activities performed by African American women, whether in their home or outside for wages—laundry on Monday, ironing on Tuesday, sewing on Wednesday, gossiping on Thursday, scrubbing floors on Friday, and cooking on Saturday. Bolling added a seventh figure, Preaching on Sunday, depicting a preacher leaning over his pulpit.
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.
| Days of the Week | |
|---|---|
) | Aunt Monday* 1932 Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph L. Antrim. Photography by Pierre Courtois, LVA |
![Sister Tuesday [Ironing]](javascript:popImage('img/titles/sister_tuesday_large.jpg','Sister Tuesday [Ironing]','Sister Tuesday [Ironing]. Courtesy of Carol Hoffman. Photography by Suzanne Van Bylevelt')) | Sister Tuesday [Ironing]* 1934 Courtesy of Carol Hoffman. Photography by Suzanne Van Bylevelt |
| Mama on Wednesday [Sewing] 1935 | |
| On Thursday–Gossip Ca. 1936 | |
) | Cousin–on–Friday* 1935 Courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Alexander D. Weddell, 1944.2.1. Photography by Katherine Wetzel |
| Cooking on Saturday Ca. 1937 | |
| Parson on Sunday Ca. 1937 |