”Lift Every Voice And Sing” (The Harp) Sculpture By Augusta Savage* for the 1939 New York World’s Fair ”Building The World of Tomorrow’’ Theme.
On this page:
(1) Augusta Savage, artist
Citation: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. “Augusta Savage, artist.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1930 – 1939. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/bc77aede-b36c-2af5-e040-e00a18060b9b
| Augusta Savage | |
| Born | Augusta Christine Fells February 29, 1892 Green Cove Springs, Florida |
|---|---|
| Died | March 27, 1962 (aged 70)[1] New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Cooper Union, Académie de la Grande Chaumière |
| Known for | Sculpture |
| Notable work | Gamin W.E.B Dubois Lift Every Voice and Sing |
| Movement | Harlem Renaissance |
| Spouse(s) | John T. Moore James Savage Robert L.Poston |
| Patron(s) | Teachers from Florida A&M, Julius Rosenwald Fund |
(2) “Lift Every Voice and Sing (The Harp),” Sculpture by Augusta Savage
”The Harp: In 1937, Augusta Savage, the director of the Harlem Community Art Center and the Harlem Renaissance’s leading sculptor, received the commission of a lifetime – to create a piece for the 1939 World’s Fair. | Inspired by the work of brothers James Weldon and Rosamond Johnson, she created “Lift Every Voice and Sing (The Harp),” a 16-foot-tall sculpture that represented everything about the black experience. Cast in plaster and finished to resemble black basalt, the sculpture depicted a row of 12 black singers in graduated heights, who formed the strings of the harp. | The arm and hand of God formed the harp’s sounding board, while the harp’s pedal was represented by a kneeling man holding a sheet of music. The Harp was exhibited in the court of the Contemporary Arts building and was one of the most popular and photographed pieces of art at the fair. | But Savage had no money to cast the “The Harp,” nor did she have any place to store it. So after the fair closed the most iconic image of it, and a lasting image of black art, was simply destroyed”. |
(3) Lyrics: Lift ev’ry voice and sing
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusta_Savage
| Lift ev’ry voice and sing, ‘Til earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the list’ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on ’til victory is won. | Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chastening rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, ‘Til now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. | God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand, True to our God, True to our native land.[14] |
(4) ”Lift Every Voice And Sing” (The Harp) Sculpture By Augusta Savage for the 1939 New York World’s Fair ”Building The World of Tomorrow’’ Theme.
A model of The Harp, whose “strings are represented by African-Americans. The sounding board … is the arm and hand of the Creator.”
| Object Name | Sculpture |
| Title | Lift Every Voice and Sing (The Harp) |
| Artist | Savage, Augusta |
| Date | 1939 ca. |
| Medium | cast white metal with bronze patina |
| Dimensions | H-10.75 W-9.625 D-4 inches |
| Signature | “Augusta Savage” |
| Signature Location | side of base |
| Makers inscription | a kneeling man at front holds plaque that reads “LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING”; on one side of base “Augusta Savage”; on other side of base “WORLD’S FAIR 1939 COPYRIGHT”; under base is paper card reading “Reproduction of a Work of Art/ Created by/ AUGUSTA SAVAGE [‘1939’ in ink]/ ‘LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING’/ NOW ON EXHIBIT/ AT THE/ NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR/ Augusta Savage Studios, Inc./ 143 West 125th Street/ New York, N.Y./ Statuary Bronze” |
| Provenance | Beverly Sack Fine Art |
| Credit line | The Fund for African American Art |
| Accession Number | G.2018.6 |
| On view: | Yes Columbus Museum, 1251 Wynnton Road, Columbus, GA 31906. Phone: 706.748.2562 Fax: 706.748.2570 Email: information@columbusmuseum.com |
| Search Terms | African American Artist African American Subject Women Artists Singing World’s Fair Civil Rights National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors Art Educator Highlights 2018 |
| Subjects | African American Allegory Figure (Male) Figure Group Music Sculpture |
(5) A Modern Harp
Basic structural elements and terminology of a modern concert harp
Picture Attribution: Martin Kraft / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
(6) Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Citation: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. “Front row: Zell Ingram, Pemberton West, Augusta Savage, Robert Pious, Sara West, Gwendolyn Bennett; back row: Elton Fax, Rex Gorleigh, Fred Perry, William Artis, Francisco Lard, Louis Jefferson, Norman Lewis” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1935 – 1943. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/af7b5df0-3bc7-0134-0228-00505686a51c
(7) “Art – Sculpture – Harp (Augusta Savage) – Harp”
Citation: Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. “Art – Sculpture – Harp (Augusta Savage) – Harp” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1935 – 1945. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e8-d63a-d471-e040-e00a180654d7
(8) The Harp was one of hundreds of works of art commissioned by the New York World’s Fair.
The Harp was one of hundreds of works of art commissioned by the New York World’s Fair.
Link: http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php
Wikipedia Citation
<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e8-80d0-d471-e040-e00a180654d7 | title= (still image) Art - Sculpture - Harp (Augusta Savage) - Harp, (1935 - 1945)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=July 9, 2020 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>
Genesis Quote Attribution: Link: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God,-The-Creator
(6) Augusta Savage presents a model of “The Harp” to Grover Whalen
Citation: Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. “Art – Sculpture – Harp (Augusta Savage) – Augusta Savage presenting model to Grover Whalen” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1935 – 1945. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e8-867c-d471-e040-e00a180654d7
Augusta Savage presents a model of “The Harp” to Grover Whalen, the organizer of the World’s Fair. Photo: New York Public Library
Link: http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php
Wikipedia Citation
<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e8-867c-d471-e040-e00a180654d7 | title= (still image) Art - Sculpture - Harp (Augusta Savage) - Augusta Savage presenting model to Grover Whalen, (1935 - 1945)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=July 9, 2020 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>
Augusta Savage “The Harp” 1930’s African American Sculpture video Attribution: ”ChiTownView” (YouTuber’s YouTube Channel)
* Wikipedia Citation
<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e9-03a1-d471-e040-e00a180654d7 | title= (still image) Art - Sculpture - Harp (Augusta Savage) - Harp, (1935 - 1945)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=July 9, 2020 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>