As we close out Black History Month and usher in Women’s History Month, today’s post on Augusta Savage made sense for a number of reasons — the most important being that today is the artist’s birthday. Born on a leap year 125 years ago, Augusta Savage’s life story still resonates and her career exemplifies an unyielding determination to her art and a strong dedication to her artistic community.
Over the last 28 posts, the artists I’ve chosen for this writing challenge formed strong networks with fellow creatives and were either influenced by key figures in the art world or were influential in their own right. As an artist and teacher Augusta Savage championed arts education and lobbied the federal government to fund programs that support emerging artists. Many of the artists I featured this month had ties to the Federal Art Project under the Works Projects Administration, a New Deal program created in 1935 which operated through 1943. This program was critical in funding opportunities for economically displaced artists who were struggling to earn a living during the Great Depression. Through this program many artists and sculptors created art in public spaces and provided venues for arts education for the next generation of emerging artists; through the Harlem Artists Guild, Savage aggressively pushed to increase access to the WPA’s Federal Art Project for black artists. Without these critical programs, the careers of many artists would have stalled or ended completely. Among the artists that I highlighted this month who received WPA projects and funding for their work include Romare Bearden, Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, Tyrus Wong and Roy DeCarava.
In Harlem, sculptor Augusta Savage’s work with the Harlem Artists Guild led to her appointment as the first director of the Harlem Community Art Center which was funded by the WPA. The center was known as a hub for creative and cultural exchange, providing free art classes and hosting community events that brought together luminaries in the Harlem Renaissance. Artists involved as students and teachers at the Harlem Community Center included Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, Langston Hughes, Norman Lewis and Richard Wright.
Flash forward to today, I encourage you to give this important history some additional consideration as Federal Arts Funding currently faces extinction.
Augusta Savage’s career saw many peaks and valleys as she struggled for resources, funds, and respect in the art world. Because the majority of her sculptures were cast in plaster and clay, much of her work has been damaged or destroyed, but in her tireless work to help and develop others she has created a lasting legacy.
Gwendolyn Bennett, The Harlem Community Art Center
New York Public Library, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”: Augusta Savage at the 1937 Worlds Fair
Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida, Augusta Savage, Biography