Augusta Savage – Sculptor
Violently discouraged from pursuing her passion, Savage was also a resilient artist who drew from the deep tradition of self-awareness & realization.
The currency of The Great Migration pulls Augusta Savage from Florida to Harlem, where she survived as a housekeeper. Savage enrolled in The Cooper School on scholarship to thrive. Prolific, she was accepted & subsequently denied the opportunity to study in Paris by Fontainebleau in 1923 after learning she was Black & in consultation with the US committee. Savage persisted, and in an era marked by a “…blooming of racial pride and awareness,” with the support of two Fellowships, the Black press, & Harlem, she studied in Paris from 1929-1932. Upon her return, she founded The Savage Studio of Arts & Crafts & became an influential art teacher of the Harlem Renaissance. She deepened her rep by shaping the busts of Harlemites, including Marcus Garvey & Du Bois, but she would explore other media over the course of her life. She would continue to expand & grow.
Sadly, her legacy often includes a long-time stalker/terrorist, who will get no more words here. Her ability (need) to create beauty while in constant terror offers a potential illustration of her stunning sculptures and their marrow. She transforms. Savage heals and attempts, and we—the witnesses—may as well.
In contrast to her name, Savage reflects with Metropolitan Magazine in 1935, “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.”
We may as well.
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