Augusta Savage

Augusta Savage (1892–1962) was an American sculptor and arts educator who helped establish the Harlem Renaissance and advocated for Black artists.

Lift Every Voice and Sing: A plaster sculpture by Augusta Savage, also known as The Harp, inspired by James Weldon Johnson’s hymn. Her best-known work turned a Black spiritual into a monumental image for the 1939 World’s Fair.
Harlem Renaissance: A flowering of Black literature, music, visual art, and thought centered in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s. Savage was an artist, organizer, and teacher within this cultural movement.
Green Cove Springs: A city in northeastern Florida where Augusta Savage was born and grew up. Savage’s childhood there included early sculpting and resistance from her father.
Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts: An art school Augusta Savage founded in Harlem in 1932. The studio made instruction accessible to aspiring artists during the Great Depression.
Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller: An African American sculptor whose symbolic works addressed Black history and identity. Fuller and Savage pursued sculpture in overlapping eras but developed distinct artistic careers.
Gamin: A 1929 bust by Augusta Savage portraying a boy from Harlem. This intimate portrait helped establish her reputation and earned her a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship.
Jacob Lawrence: An American painter known for narrative series depicting Black history and life. Lawrence studied at Savage’s Harlem art school as a young artist.
Cooper Union: A private college in New York City founded to provide free education in art, architecture, and engineering. Savage studied sculpture there after moving to New York.
Harlem Community Art Center: A community arts institution in Harlem founded in 1937 with Augusta Savage as its first director. Savage built a lasting public teaching program that served thousands of local students.
Edmonia Lewis: A nineteenth-century African American and Native American sculptor who worked in Rome. Lewis offers an earlier comparison for the barriers Savage faced as a Black woman sculptor.

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Women in the artsBroader topic: Her work and teaching connect artistic practice with racial barriers and community institution-building.