ABOUT THE PROJECT: As an arts organization dedicated to recognizing the contributions of women in the arts, NCWCA will be highlighting 27 Black Women in the Arts throughout 2020 in honor of Breonna Taylor. Breonna would have turned 27 years old this year had she not been murdered in her own home by the police on March 13th. #JusticeForBre
27 BLACK WOMEN IN THE ARTS:
#1 AUGUSTA SAVAGE (1892-1962)
Augusta Savage was a sculptor, educator, and activist known for being one of the first artists to consistently create work reflecting Black faces and bodies during the Harlem Renaissance in New York.
*** What can we learn from her life and work? ***
1) She kindled a relentless, “burning desire” to become a successful sculptor despite her family’s lack of support and difficulty procuring materials in her early years.
2) She sculpted busts of influential Black figures (e.g. W.E.B. Du Bois) and her best-known work, "Gamin," won the Julius Rosenwald Fellowship that enabled her to study in Paris, 1929. Her largest work, "The Harp," was influenced by Black spirituals and hymns.
3) She grew to be a prominent teacher in Harlem after starting the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts, expressing:
“If I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent I know they possess, then my monument will be in their work. No one could ask for more than that.”
4) She trail-blazed, becoming the first 1st director of the Harlem Community Art Center and the first Black member of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors.
TAKE TIME: Read more about Savage at https://americanart.si.edu/artist/augusta-savage-4269
TAKE ACTION: Continue the legacy of Augusta Savage by supporting Black Women in the Arts:
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/where-to-donate-black-lives-matter-1879701
* Special attention to the following organizations: Black Girl Magik, Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, Black Women’s Blueprint, and (Fem)power
Photo courtesy of Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection, 1935-1942. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
*** What can we learn from her life and work? ***
1) She kindled a relentless, “burning desire” to become a successful sculptor despite her family’s lack of support and difficulty procuring materials in her early years.
2) She sculpted busts of influential Black figures (e.g. W.E.B. Du Bois) and her best-known work, "Gamin," won the Julius Rosenwald Fellowship that enabled her to study in Paris, 1929. Her largest work, "The Harp," was influenced by Black spirituals and hymns.
3) She grew to be a prominent teacher in Harlem after starting the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts, expressing:
“If I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent I know they possess, then my monument will be in their work. No one could ask for more than that.”
4) She trail-blazed, becoming the first 1st director of the Harlem Community Art Center and the first Black member of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors.
TAKE TIME: Read more about Savage at https://americanart.si.edu/artist/augusta-savage-4269
TAKE ACTION: Continue the legacy of Augusta Savage by supporting Black Women in the Arts:
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/where-to-donate-black-lives-matter-1879701
* Special attention to the following organizations: Black Girl Magik, Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, Black Women’s Blueprint, and (Fem)power
Photo courtesy of Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection, 1935-1942. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
