Hand

Harlem Renaissance sculptor Leslie Garland Bolling (1898-1955) was born in Surry County, Virginia, to Clinton C. Bolling, a blacksmith, and his wife Mary. Leslie Bolling’s work reflected everyday themes, family life and shared values of southern African-American culture during the Jim Crow era.

In 1948, Leslie Bolling married Ethelyn M. Bailey, and the couple settled in New York. The couple had no children. Bolling died on September 27, 1955. His body was returned to Richmond for burial following his death in 1955.