Born near Jacksonville, Florida, Savage moved to New York City in 1921 to study art at Cooper Union, beating out 142 men on the waiting list for her spot at the college. In 1923, Savage applied for a summer art program sponsored by the French government but was ultimately rejected because of her race. Thus began her lifelong fight to democratize and equalize the arts. One of her first commissions, a bust of W. E. B. DuBois for the Harlem Library, was well-received, and Savage proceeded to sculpt other African-American leaders, including Marcus Garvey and William Pickens Sr.
In 1929, her sculpture of a child from Harlem, Gamin, earned her widespread recognition and helped her secure a scholarship to study at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere located in Paris, where she exhibited her work and won numerous awards. Savage returned to the United States in 1931 and launched the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts, which became the Harlem Community Art Center, in 1932. Two years later, she became the first African-American artist to be elected to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. For the rest of her life, the artist continued to create groundbreaking work—she was one of four women to receive a commission from the 1939 World’s Fair—and dedicated her time to teaching art to those around her.
Pictured: Augusta Savage working on a piece, New York, NY, 1938.