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Augusta Savage |
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Born in Green Cove Florida in either in 1882 or 1892, Augusta Christine Fells began modeling figures at an early age despite the admonitions of her preacher father against "creating graven images". When the family moved to West Palm Beach and a piece she entered into the county fair won a prize, she was convinced art was the route for her. |
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Savage thrived artistically in West Palm Beach, receiving local encouragement and prizes then moved to Jacksonville hoping to make a living by executing commissioned busts of the city's well-to-do African Americans. When the opportunity arose, she migrated northward to New York. In 1921 she enrolled at Cooper Union in the four-year sculpture course and her instructors quickly waived many of the classes in light of her talent. She took in washing to cover living expenses. |
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In 1923 Savage became the focus of a racial scandal involving the French government and the American arts community. She was among some 100 young American women selected to attend a summer program at Fontainebleau, outside Paris, but her participation was blocked when the French government discovered her race. Although she went public and many supported her claims of racism, the decision was not reversed. A member of the committee, American sculptor Herman A. MacNeil denounced the decision and invited Savage to study with him as a concession. |
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Also in 1923 Savage married for the third and final time, but her husband, Robert L. Poston, died the next year. Her first husband John T. Moore died a few years after their 1907 wedding and provided Augusta with her only child, Irene in 1908. Her second husband was James Savage whom she married in 1915 and continued to use his name even though she divorced him in the early 1920's. Savage worked in steam laundries to earn money to care for her family and to save for more art studies. |
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In the 1920s Savage became recognized as a portrait sculptor and sculpted busts of leading black figures. Ms. Savagewas unique from other artists in that most of her sculptures focused on black physiognomy. This is readily seen in the sculpture to the left of her nephew Ellis Ford entitled Gamin. It was this sculpture that won Augusta Savage the Julius Rosenwald Fellowship in 1929 that enabled her finally to study in Paris in 1929-31. Her attention to detail is also seen in the bust Leonore. |
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Leonore |
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Gamin |
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When Savage returned to New York she began to teach art, founding the Savage School of Arts and Crafts in Harlem to provide art education to the community. Savage became the first African American elected to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. In 1937 she became the first director of the Harlem Community Art Center, an institution funded under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This was the largest art center in the nation at the time. While providing instruction to many young black artists, Savage also spoke out on the racial discrimination in the hiring processes of the WPA. .Her successful fights led to the creation of the Harlem Artist's Guild which produced such noteworthy talents as Jacob Lawrence. |
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In the late 1930s Savage was commissioned to create a sculpture for the 1939 New York World's Fair. The piece, based on James Weldon Johnson's poem Lift Every Voice and Sing became one of her best known works. Unfortunately, it and many other works Savage made of plaster and painted to appear to be bronze were never cast in durable materials and were lost or destroyed. One of the highlights of her life was being part of the "306"; group - named for the address of Charles Alston's studio, 306 West 141st Street. Along with Savage and Alston, other WPA based artists that worked out of the studio were Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and twin brothers Morgan and Marvin Smith. |
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In the mid 1940's, Savage greatly reduced the amount of work she created herself and focused on educating others. She moved from Harlem and opened a studio in Saugerties, New York where she continued teaching art to adults and children. |
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1939 The Harp |
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Augusta Savage died March 26,196 |
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For more information on Filling in the Gaps in American History (F.I.G.A.H), biographies or research on people of African Descent who don't usually appear in text books, contact us at email. |
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