Augusta Savage was born in Green Cove Springs,
Florida in 1892. As a child, she liked to sculpt things out of clay, but her
parents strongly opposed her love of sculpting, and it wasn’t until she sculpted
a statue of the Virgin Mary that her parents acknowledged and accepted her
talent (biography.com). After giving birth to a girl, and surviving the sudden
death of her first marriage, Savage moved to New York City to study at Cooper
Union Art School (pbs.org). In New York, she was commissioned to sculpt
portraits of highly well known and influential African American figures like
W.E.B. Dubois and Marcus Garvey, and went on to gain wide recognition of her
work, in America and Europe (pbs.org).
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| "Gamin" |
One Harlem Renaissance
themes in Augusta Savage’s life include Determination to Fight Oppression. She
fought for equal rights all her life, starting from when her application for a
summer art program in France was turned down by the international judging
committee because she was black (wikipedia.com). She fought back against the
committee, and continued to fight oppression and make great art, and found a way
to establish herself in France a little later in life
(biography.com).
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| "The Harp" |
Savage
is influential not only because of her beautiful work, but also because of her
career as a teacher in the Harlem Community. She created the Savage Studio of
Arts and Crafts, which became Harlem Community Arts Center, with her as it’s
first director (pbs.com). The center was successful in teaching young artists in
Harlem, and inspired other art centers in different parts of America. Many of
her students grew into famous artists and activists. She was also the first
African American in the National Association of Woman Painters and Sculptors
(wikipedia.com).
I chose to learn about
Augusta Savage because I wanted to learn more about female artists in Harlem,
and I really like her work. I admire her ability to create amazing work despite
intense obstacles.
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