Augusta Savage: Female Sculptor and Educator who Fought against Racism:
“I have created nothing really beautiful, really lasting, but if I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent I know they possess, then my monument will be in their work.”— Augusta Savage, Metropolitan Magazine, Jan. 1935.
Who is Augusta Savage?
Augusta Savage, original name Augusta Christine Fells, was born in 1892, Florida, United States and died in 1962, New York, United States.
During the 1930s, Savage was well known in Harlem as an influential sculptor, art teacher, and community art program director.
In 1939, Savage became the first African woman to open an art gallery in America; the Salon of Contemporary Negro Art.
Savage was always on the side of women! After her own struggle to get education, she devoted her life to teach other women of colour how to sculpt, draw, and paint. She also worked to guarantee equal rights and to secure a place in arts for African Americans.
What is sculpture?
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions, made by carving various materials such as stone, wood, metal or plaster. It divides into 4 basic categories: molded, cast, carved or assembled
Let’s explore Savage’s artworks!
One of Savage’s most famous sculptures is The Harp. The 16-foot-tall plaster sculpture was first displayed at 1939 New York World’s Fair, and it was the most popular and most photographed work of the entire fair. The sculpture was inspired by and based on the song “Lift every voice and sing” by James Weldon and Rosammond Johnson, and it depicts a choir of black children singing through a shape of a harp. Elevating heights are represented as strings, and the sounding board is turned into the arms and hands of the kids. However, due to deficient funding, Savage could not cast it in bronze or move to store it, resulting in the destruction at the end of the fair.
Additionally, an enormous amount of Savage’s arts is gone. Some were eliminated by the artist herself; others were destroyed due to its fragile materials like plaster, and a few just disappeared mysteriously.
Savage with her sculpture Realization in 1938
