Throne+of+the+Third+Heaven+of+the+Nations'+Millennium+General+Assembly,+The

Date: ca. 1950-1964
 * [[image:http://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=http://americanart.si.edu/images/1970/1970.353.1-.116_9a.jpg&max=460 width="663" height="313" link="@http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=9897"]] ||
 * Title: **The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly**

Artist: **James Hampton** Born: Elloree, South Carolina 1909 Died: Washington, District of Columbia 1964

Medium: mixed media (gold and silver aluminum foil, Kraft paper, and plastic over wood furniture, paperboard, and glass) Dimensions: dimensions variable Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of anonymous donors

Accession: 1970.353.1-.116 || "Fear Not" and "Where there is no vision, the people perish"—these biblical exhortations appear on two of the 180 objects that compose James Hampton's life work, inspired by visions and the Book of Revelation. Although intent on warning others about the Second Coming, Hampton did not pursue a public ministry. Uneducated and reclusive, he expressed his fundamentalist beliefs by constructing The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, conceived as a monument to Jesus. That he lived in Washington, D.C., influenced Hampton's aspirations, for he believed that Jesus should be memorialized in the nation's city of monuments.
 * Exhibition Label: **

Hampton ingeniously appropriated discarded materials. The Throne's structural elements are made of old wood furniture, cardboard, and glass, transformed and unified by the gleam of aluminum and gold foils. Hampton's intricate, large-scale design derives coherence from parallel rows of constructions, densely packed on several levels. The throne at the rear center is the focal point. Pairs of objects on either side of it impart a powerful, compulsive sense of symmetry. To the throne's right, objects refer to the New Testament and Jesus; to the left, the Old Testament and Moses, a division that corresponds to the disposition of the saved in the Bible. Many of the constructions resemble church thrones or mercy seats, altars, and pulpits. The Book of Revelation is also the source for other elements, including the shining throne intended for God and surrounded by angels, whose wings are suggested by the recurring sawtoothed decorative motif. Hampton's symbolism extended even to his choice of materials such as light bulbs, which represent God as the light of the world. Praised as America's greatest work of visionary art, Hampton's Throne embodies the creative power of faith.

//The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly// is a complex work of art created by James Hampton over a period of fourteen years. Hampton made the array based on several religious visions that prompted him to prepare for Christ's return to earth. His reference to the "third heaven" is based on scriptures citing it as the "heaven of heavens"--God's realm.
 * Gallery Label: **

Hampton created his masterpiece in a rented carriage house, transforming its drab interior into a resplendent world. He hand-crafted many of the elements from cardboard and plastic, but added structure with found objects from his neighborhood, such as old furniture and jelly jars, and discards like light bulbs from the federal office buildings in which he worked. Hampton selected shimmering metallic foils, purple paper (now faded to tan), and other materials to evoke spiritual awe and splendor. //The Throne// embodies a complex fusion of Christianity and African-American spiritual practices overlaying themes of deliverance and freedom; it is both astonishingly splendid and profoundly humble.

//The Throne// derives coherence from parallel rows of components arranged on two levels. A cushioned throne at the rear is a focal point for the highly symmetrical array. Objects on the right refer to the New Testament and Jesus; those on the left to the Old Testament and Moses. Hampton also left texts written in an arcane spiritual script that he may have understood as the word of God as received by him.

Praised as America's greatest work of visionary art, Hampton's //Throne// reveals one man's faith in God as well as his hope for salvation. Although Hampton did not live to initiate a public ministry, his commanding phrase--"FEAR NOT"--summarizes his project's powerful message.

Folk and Self-Taught Art affirms the basic human impluse to create. The museum has long championed self-taught art as an embodiment of the democratic spirit. It is one of the only major American museums to advocate for a populist and uniquely American voice within the context of what is traditionally considered great art. These works by untrained artists are powerfully evocative of a personal vision.
 * Artwork Description: **

James Hampton's entire artistic output is this single work, which he constructed for more than fourteen years in a rented garage, transforming its drab interior into a heavenly vision. //The Throne// and its associated components are made from discarded materials and found objects such as old furniture, cardboard cutouts, and light bulbs. All were scavenged from secondhand shops, the streets, or the federal office buildings in which Hampton worked as a janitor. To complete each element, Hampton used shimmering metallic foils and brilliant purple paper (now faded to tan) to evoke spiritual awe and splendor. Praises as America's greatest work of visionary art, //The Throne// reveal one man's faith in God as well as his hope for salvation.

//Smithsonian American Art Museum: Commemorative Guide//. Nashville, TN: Beckon Books, 2015.


 * Suggested Questions: **

The Revelation of the Folk Artist Helen Ingalls on Hampton Throne, Notes Lesson Plan Texture and Pattern Activity "The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millenium General Assembly" by To Thompson - Washington Post Magazine, Aug 9 1981
 * Resources: **

[|Artist Biography] [|Essay published by the Museum of Fine Arts] SAAM Collections Page
 * Links: **