The Art OF THE Possible

Augusta Savage was a celebrated sculptor who opened a gallery to spotlight the work of Black artists. It lasted three months. Here is what we missed.

- TANISHA C. FORD

On June 7, 1939, about 600 New York art enthusiasts and powerbrokers of all races gathered at a spacious gallery on West 125th Street in Harlem. They were there at the behest of the sculptor Augusta Savage to celebrate the opening of her Salon of Contemporary Negro Art. Dressed in tuxedos and evening gowns, they sipped champagne and gazed at oil paintings, lithographs, and sculptures by some of the most renowned Black artists of the day. An African-American woman seated at a grand piano played quietly as the guests mingled. It was Savage’s big night, the culmination of years of work.

Savage glided gracefully to the center of the room, her dazzling corsage catching the light as she addressed the crowd. “I have long felt that Negro artists, in the course of our development, have reached the point where they should have a gallery of their own—one devoted to the exhibition and sale of Negro art,” she said. Savage and her partners at Augusta Savage Studios Inc. had spared no expense on the gallery, aiming to create a space that, as she explained, was “beautifully appointed, well lighted, and ideally suited.” She told her guests that night, “We have made every effort to make this one of the finest galleries in the country…a mecca for all art lovers.”