Now that Black History Month (and my self-imposed blog-cation) is over, and we’ve entered Women’s History Month, we’ll be taking a look at some known an unknown Black women over the next 31 days, who’ve made artistic, political, educational and literary contributions to the world.
If, like me, you are tired of reading about the woes of Black women and what their “characteristics” have wrought on the Black family, etc., then take a few minute out of your day for the next month and enjoy. First up…
AUGUSTA SAVAGE
Augusta Christine Fells Savage was born on February 29, 1892, in Green Cove Springs, Florida. Her parents were Edward and Cornelia Fells and she was the seventh of fourteen children.
Augusta loved working with clay from her earliest years, often choosing to slip to the clay pits to model ducks and birds instead of going to school. This habit infuriated her father, a fundamentalist preacher. Augusta continued anyway, eventually creating dozens of clay animals during her childhood. This continued even through her marriage in 1907 to John Moore and the birth of her only child, Irene, the next year. Moore died a couple of years later and she moved back home with her parents.
In 1915, Augusta and her family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida where clay wasn’t a natural resource. She begged for clay from a small factory called Chase Pottery, and was able to resume her passion. Her creation of several pieces, including an eighteen-inch statue of the Virgin Mary, impressed her father so much that he finally began to accept her work and talent. It also persuaded the School Board to appoint her to teach modeling during her senior year of high school, at a “salary” of one dollar per day. In 1920, Savage moved to New York with just $4.60, a letter from her principal, George Currie to a prominent New York sculptor named Solon Borglum, and a burning desire to become an artist in six months.
In New York, she supported herself as an apartment caretaker and went to see Borglum, who arranged for her to study at Cooper Union, a tuition-free school. From 1921-1924, she was enrolled in the school and studied for the most part with sculptor George Brewster. Three months after enrolling, she lost her caretaker position, but Cooper Union’s director offered her a scholarship in 1921-22 to cover her living expenses. Taking a cheap room in Upper Harlem to save money, Savage began frequenting the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library and became quite well known in the community. Librarian Sadie Peterson (Delaney) persuaded the friends of the library to commission Savage to do a portrait of W.E.B Dubois. Another notable black leader, Marcus Garvey, sat for her on Sunday mornings in his Harlem apartment. The Dubois commission brought her wide recognition in the African-American community, provided financial support, and gained her wide acceptance among the Harlem Renaissance figures. Meanwhile, she finished the four-year course at Cooper Union in three years.
She later married James Savage, who left nothing permanent in her life other than the name she adopted.
In 1928, her brother Fred died while rescuing Florida flood victims. This brought her entire family to New York to live with her. The following year her father died, leaving her with the funeral expenses. But just when things seemed darkest, the tide began to turn. John Nail, a Harlem realtor, and Eugene Kinckle Jones, president of the National Urban League, brought her work to the attention of the Julius Rosenwald Fund, a charitable foundation. In order for her to qualify for a scholarship, Savage was asked to assemble an exhibition of her existing works for the review committee. Putting together an exciting display of her best work, she called the collection “Gamin.” With a small jaunty statue of her nephew, Ellis Ford, as the centerpiece, “Gamin” dazzled the scholarship committee members so much that they raised their original offer of $1,500 to $1,800. In 1931, Savage used the money and another small scholarship from the Rosenwald Fund to study at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Europe. By 1932 the grant had run out and she returned to New York.
In 1939, Savage was commissioned to produce a sculpture for the New York World’s Fair. She was the only black woman invited to participateand was paid $1,200 by the Design Committee. This would be her last major work. Augusta Savage spent the rest of her life teaching young sculptors until she died of cancer on March 26, 1962, while living with her daughter. She is buried in Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
Bibliography:In Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 12, Augusta C. Savage, P. 186-190. Published by Gale Research in 1996.
In Notable Black American Women, Volume 2, Augusta C. Savage, P. 979-983. Published by Gale Research in 1992.
For more information about Augusta Savage and her work see:
