Gamin

Augusta Savage, Gamin, ca. 1929, painted plaster, 95 344 38 in. (22.914.711.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Benjamin and Olya Margolin, 1988.57

Artwork Details

Title
Gamin
Date
ca. 1929
Dimensions
95 344 38 in. (22.914.711.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Benjamin and Olya Margolin
Mediums
Mediums Description
painted plaster
Classifications
Subjects
  • African American
  • Dress — accessory — hat
  • Figure male — child — bust
Object Number
1988.57
Research Notes

Artwork Description

Augusta Savage's young nephew Ellis Ford modeled for this sculpture in 1929 while he and his family were living with her in Harlem, taking refuge there after losing their home in Florida in a hurricane. Ellis is shown with the soft cap commonly worn by newspaper boys and other working youth. Inscribed on the base is the French word gamin, a term that refers to streetwise children. This composition was widely considered to be Savage's most successful sculpture. It was so popular that the artist produced a life-sized bronze as well as numerous plaster casts like the one shown here, which she painted to look like bronze.

Savage was an activist-educator and key figure working in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s. She mentored countless prominent artists and was an outspoken critic of racism embedded in the artworld. She was a cofounder of the Harlem Artists Guild, which secured employment for Black artists, and she helped establish the Harlem Community Art Center. In 1939 she opened the Salon of Contemporary Negro Art, the first gallery in the United States dedicated specially to exhibiting and selling works by African American artists.

Works by this artist (9 items)

Raymond White Skolfield, Night on Fourteenth St., 1936, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Evander Childs High School, Bronx, New York through the General Services Administration, 1975.83.87
Night on Fourteenth St.
Date1936
lithograph on paper
Not on view
Raymond White Skolfield, The Fog Lifts, 1938, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.206
The Fog Lifts
Date1938
lithograph on paper
Not on view
Raymond White Skolfield, Dyckman St. Ferry, n.d., lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from D.C. Public Library, 1967.72.239
Dyckman St. Ferry
Daten.d.
lithograph
Not on view
Raymond White Skolfield, Bound for the Tropics, 1936, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.205
Bound for the Tropics
Date1936
lithograph
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Claire Falkenstein, City is Man, 1941-1952, linocut, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.14, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
City is Man
Date1941-1952
linocut
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Untitled, 1976, embossed paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.18, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Untitled
Date1976
embossed paper
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Mandala, 1977, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.19, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Mandala
Date1977
lithograph
Not on view
Les Quais de la Seine a Paris
Date1917
hand-colored etching on postcard
Not on view