American sculptor and teacher of the Harlem Renaissance who studied in Paris from 1929 to 1931, exhibited at the Grand Palais, and later trained a generation of artists in Harlem.
Augusta Savage began modeling figures from the clay she found near her Florida home. She moved to New York in 1921, completed the Cooper Union art course in three years, and built a reputation through portrait busts. Her sitters included W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey.
Her 1929 bust Gamin helped secure a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship. The award, supplemented by support from Black civic organizations, made sustained study in Paris possible after an earlier French summer program had rejected her because of her race.
Savage studied briefly with Félix Benneteau-Desgrois at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. Two of her sculptures were accepted by the Salon d'Automne and shown at the Grand Palais. A second Rosenwald Fellowship in 1931 extended her stay for another year, and a Carnegie grant supported travel through France, Belgium, and Germany.
Paris gave Savage access to formal training and major exhibitions, but she returned to New York rather than establish an expatriate career. The work she did next joined sculpture to institution-building in Harlem.
Savage opened the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts after returning in 1932 and later directed the Harlem Community Art Center. Her students and younger colleagues included Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight, and Norman Lewis. She also pressed federal arts administrators to support Black artists during the Depression.
Her largest commission was The Harp for the 1939 New York World's Fair, inspired by James Weldon Johnson's Lift Every Voice and Sing. The plaster sculpture was destroyed after the fair because funds were not available to cast it in bronze, a fate shared by much of Savage's surviving record.
Born in Green Cove Springs, Florida.
Moves to New York and enrolls at Cooper Union.
Travels to Paris on a Rosenwald Fellowship and studies at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
Receives a second Rosenwald Fellowship and remains in Paris for another year.
Becomes the first director of the Harlem Community Art Center.
Creates The Harp for the New York World's Fair.
Dies in New York City.
Painted a portrait of · 1920
Savage established her reputation as a portrait sculptor in Harlem during the 1920s. A commissioned bust of W. E. B. Du Bois was among the works that brought her support from Black civic organizations before her Paris fellowship.
Taught · 1930
Lawrence attended Savage's Harlem art school as a teenager; Savage became one of the teachers who opened the city's arts institutions to him.
Taught
Norman Lewis studied with Savage before developing the abstract work for which he became known.
Two of Savage's sculptures were accepted by the Salon d'Automne and exhibited at the Grand Palais during her 1929–1931 Paris period.
Visit the place
Savage studied sculpture briefly with Félix Benneteau-Desgrois at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière after arriving in Paris on a Rosenwald Fellowship in 1929.
Visit the placePainted a portrait of · 1920
Savage established her reputation as a portrait sculptor in Harlem during the 1920s. A commissioned bust of W. E. B. Du Bois was among the works that brought her support from Black civic organizations before her Paris fellowship.
Taught · 1930
Lawrence attended Savage's Harlem art school as a teenager; Savage became one of the teachers who opened the city's arts institutions to him.
Taught
Norman Lewis studied with Savage before developing the abstract work for which he became known.
Exhibited at
Two of Savage's sculptures were accepted by the Salon d'Automne and exhibited at the Grand Palais during her 1929–1931 Paris period.
Studied at · 1929
Savage studied sculpture briefly with Félix Benneteau-Desgrois at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière after arriving in Paris on a Rosenwald Fellowship in 1929.
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Web source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Augusta Savage page.
Web source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Augusta Savage page.
These references anchor the page in the documented record and in the scholarly conversations around Augusta Savage. Every claim on this page traces back to one or more of the works listed here.
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