Women Artists

allaboutcolors:

Augusta Christine Savage (1892-1962): #BHM #Art

 - a sculptor, teacher, and advocate for black artists, Savage was one of the first artists who consistently dealt with black physiognomy. Her best-known work of the 1920s was Gamin, an informal bust portrait of her nephew, for which she was awarded a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship to study in Paris in 1929. There she studied briefly with Felix Benneteau at the Académie de la Grand Chaumière. She had two works accepted for the Salon d’Automne and exhibited at the Grand Palais in Paris. In 1931 Savage won a second Rosenwald fellowship, which permitted her to remain in Paris for an additional year.

With a grant from the Carnegie Foundation in 1932, she founded the Savage School of Arts, the largest program of free art classes in New York. Her students included painter Jacob Lawrence. In 1934 Savage became the first African American elected to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. She also lobbied the Works Projects Administration (WPA) on behalf of African-American artists to help them find work during this time of financial crisis and helped to found the Harlem Artists’ Guild. This led to a directorial position at the WPA’s Harlem Community Center, which offered art instruction for all kinds of students.

Click on the photo for more info about this artist.