Augusta Savage was never just an artist—she was a visionary who wielded her chisel as both instrument and indictment. With Savage, AiFred honors her enduring power by creating a portrait that doesn’t simply represent her, but channels her. This striking work, part of Union Art Studios’ founding fine art collection, brings together symbolism, spirituality, and defiance in a single, radiant form. It’s a bold affirmation that art, at its best, is activism.

At first glance, Savage commands attention through its silhouette: regal, upright, and serene, crowned by the unmistakable rays of the Statue of Liberty. But here, Lady Liberty’s spikes are not merely referenced—they are reframed. Positioned behind a profile that mirrors Black strength and womanhood, the crown radiates more than freedom; it radiates journey. Within its arcs are etched subtle journey lines—AiFred’s signature motif—representing struggle, movement, and the sacred path of becoming. In this visual language, the crown becomes more than symbol. It becomes story.

This piece speaks through the “fragment form,” a style that carries deliberate breaks, curves, and edges—each mark a reflection of resilience. The disruptions are not damage; they are declarations. Just as Augusta Savage carved space for herself and others within a culture determined to erase her, this piece embraces imperfection as intention.

“She didn’t just sculpt figures—she shaped futures. Savage reminds us that art is not passive; it protests, protects, and proclaims.”

Around the neck of the central figure is a pendant bearing the Ananse symbol—an emblem of creativity, wisdom, and storytelling. In African tradition, Ananse the spider is a trickster, a weaver of tales, and a keeper of knowledge. It’s a fitting tribute to Savage, who spun narratives through sculpture and shaped the world through teaching. Here, Ananse hangs not as ornament but as origin—a call to create, to outwit erasure, to endure.

Beneath the necklace, a chorus of abstract figures rises from the torso—ghostly, reverent, and inspired by Savage’s masterwork The Harp. That 1939 sculpture transformed spirituals into sculpture, with Black bodies forming the strings of a harp played by a divine hand. In Savage, those forms return—not as a replica, but as a spiritual echo. They represent the generations she uplifted through mentorship, artistry, and courage. Her students. Her legacy. Her song.

Through every intentional detail, Savage becomes more than a tribute—it becomes a charge. AiFred reminds us that art is not passive. It can protest, protect, proclaim. The crowned figure is not simply Augusta Savage. She is every creator who dares to rise. Every voice that will not be silenced.

Savage is a visual offering—one that calls us to remember, to reclaim, and to rise. It is a portrait, yes, but also a portal. Through its lines, its fragments, its fire, we are asked to walk the path Savage cleared. And to carry the crown forward.

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Mail
• Pinterest
• Reddit
• Threads
• X