Panel 1:
Augusta stands next to a pedestal with three small sculptures on it. An award ribbon is affixed to the pedestal. She is smiling with pride. Her hair is pulled back from her face in a low bun. She is wearing a dark dress with long sleeves and a pleated skirt, and a pale panel on the front of the blouse. Text to her left reads: “When she was 27, a potter gave Augusta some clay. She formed the clay into a group of figures, which she entered in a county fair. It earned her a special prize and a ribbon of honor.”
Panel 2:
Augusta, dressed in a skirt suit and hat, holds her daughter Irene’s face in her hands as she kisses her farewell. To her right is a pair of suitcases. In the background, behind Irene, Augusta’s parents stand, waving goodbye. Text above them reads: “Encouraged by her success, Augusta left Irene with her parents and moved to New York City.”
Panel 3:
Augusta, dressed in a white blouse and pale skirt, her hair pulled back from her face in a bun, sits on a stool in front of a bust. She is sculpting the clay with both hands, as she concentrates deeply. Text above her reads: “Augusta found a job and began taking classes at the Cooper Union School of Art.
Panel 4:
Augusta sits behind a table. Two clay busts, a rag, and a caliper, and lumps of clay take up space on the table. She is smiling wide and gesturing with both her hands. Behind her two black men in suits look intently at her sculptures. To the left is a man with a round face and a thin black moustache wearing a dark suit, tie, white shirt, and light vest, he is Marcus Garvey.
To the right is W. E. B. Du Bois. He has a mustache, beard, and is bald on the top of his head. He is wearing a lighter suit, white shirt, and a bow tie. To their left, text reads: “Augusta’s early career as an artist aligned with the peak of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s. She made her sculptures in a small studio apartment and became part of the art world and the vibrant, tight-knit community. Augusta created portrait busts of prominent figures of the time, including W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey.”
