Clark Coe, a farmer and basketmaker from Killingworth, Connecticut, who also sold ax handles in nearby New Haven, constructed a large, ingenious assemblage of articulated outdoor figures in a clearing next to a stream on his property; only a handful of them still exist. The creation of the fantastic animated environment, known locally as the Killingworth Images, is thought to have begun with Coe’s desire to amuse a disabled nephew or to entertain his grandchildren. A waterwheel powered the original group of approximately forty figures. Coe assembled the individual parts of each figure from old barrel staves, carved tree trunks and natural limbs, and driftwood, and embellished them with paint, nails, discarded clothing and ribbon, and scraps of metal. Following Coe’s death in 1919, a man named Parmalee took over the property and attempted to manage the recreational environment with donations he received. By the end of the following year, however, he abandoned the project. Like other fragile folk forms, the figures fell into disrepair; the environment was dismantled and stored by the Killingworth Historical Society and eventually sold as individual figures in the 1960s.

With its improvisational quality, Musician with Lute is one of the strongest works from the ensemble. It displays an exquisite economy of carving; the large head and small generalized features are reminiscent of a simple frontal carving style found in many ancient cultures. The arms gently embrace a boxy four-stringed musical instrument, a generic interpretation of the ancient lute, with a body made of sheet metal and an extended neck of carved, grained ash. The interaction of abstract forms evokes the harmony of a strong visual presence and an imagined auditory experience.

Lee Kogan, "Musician With Lute," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 362.