Existing comment:
Augusta Savage
Life Every Voice and Sing, ca 1939
Augusta Savage was one of 12 women artists commissioned for the 1939 New York World's Fair and the only Black woman to participate in it. Lift Every Voice and Sing represented Black contributions to music and drew inspiration from the titular hymn, written by brothers James Weldon Johnson and Rosamond Johnson and known today as the Black National Anthem. The original 16-foot sculpture featured the Black youth who popularized the song. Unfortunately, Savage lacked both the funds to cast it into bronze and the space to store it. Like many pieces from the World's Fair, the sculpture was destroyed when the exhibition ended. It survives only in the form of souvenir replicas like the one shown here. |