Description: William and his family moved to New York in 1927, where the teenager completed high school and started formal art training. That instruction began under sculptor Augusta Savage, a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Artis worked primarily in terracotta and stoneware, gravitating towards portrait busts. He sculpted anonymous and decorative figurative works, as well as specific people, like the young children in his Harlem neighborhood. He presumably encountered many of his subjects while teaching ceramics at a nearby YMCA under the auspices of the WPA. This experience was the start of a long career as an educator, a passion that eventually led Artis to Midwestern college campuses. He was a pupil of Augusta Savage and exhibited with the Harmon Foundation. He was featured in the 1930s film A Study of Negro Artists, along with Savage and other artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance, including Richmond Barthé, James Latimer Allen, Palmer Hayden, Aaron Douglas, William Ellisworth Artis, William Ellisworth Artis, Lois Mailou Jones, and Georgette Seabrooke.[4][5] He taught at the Harlem YMCA after finishing high school, then was involved with Works Progress Administration's artists project. From 1941 to 1945, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II.[1] After the war, he earned his academic degrees. Artis studied at the Art Students League of New York and Syracuse University, where he study with Ivan Meštrović during which time this mask was executed 1952. After leaving Syracuse, he taught at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. In 1945, Artis, with fellow artist Romare Bearden and Selma Burke, were together in the landmark Albany Institute of History and Art exhibit and over the next decade found the black artist making inroads in national exhibits and major galleries.
Price: 6000 USD
Location: Banning, California
End Time: 2023-12-18T19:48:07.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Signed: Yes
Period: Post-War (1940-1970)
Material: Clay
Item Length: 9 in
Region of Origin: New York, USA
Subject: Africa, Men
Type: Print
Format: Mask
Year of Production: 1952
Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
Item Height: 5 in
Theme: Art
Features: 1st Edition
Production Technique: Pottery
Item Width: 5 in
Time Period Produced: 1950-1959