Savoy

Richard Yarde, Savoy, 1988, wood and mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1989.59.2
Copied Richard Yarde, Savoy, 1988, wood and mixed media, 36 x 30 x 6 3⁄4 in. (91.4 x 76.2 x 17.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1989.59.2

Artwork Details

Title
Savoy
Artist
Date
1988
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
36 x 30 x 6 3⁄4 in. (91.4 x 76.2 x 17.1 cm)
Credit Line
Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program
Mediums
Mediums Description
wood and mixed media
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — civic — theater
  • Recreation — dancing
  • African American
  • Figure group
Object Number
1989.59.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1989.59.2

Artwork Description

Richard Yarde's Savoy is one of six indoor murals that were commissioned by the General Services Administration’s Art-in-Architecture Program for the Joseph P. Addabbo Federal Building in Jamaica, New York. This piece depicts African American dancers at the Savoy, a block-long ballroom in Harlem that flourished between 1926 and 1959. One of the dancers shown in this piece is Frank Manning, a major choreographer for the professional dancers and one of the many Savoy dancers who moved to the borough of Queens in the 1940s. Savoy commemorates the importance of improvisation and inventive dancing in the African American community. The completed mural was installed in 1989 and measures 10 feet by 12 feet.