Arts & Humanities

Focal Point An expressive sculpture from the Harlem Renaissance

Part of Yale’s extensive collections, this miniature bust is a lifelike depiction of a boy in the 1920s.

By
Oscar Sweeting
1 min read
Painted plaster bust of African American newspaper boy from the 1920s
Listen to this story An expressive sculpture from the Harlem Renaissance
0:00 / 0:00
Object: “Gamin,” by Augusta Savage
Date:1929
Medium:Painted plaster
Where to find:Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

This sculpture by Augusta Savage (1892-1962), a celebrated Harlem Renaissance artist, activist, and educator, is a portrait of the artist’s nephew, Ellis Ford, who was living with her at the time. He is shown with a soft cap like those often worn by newspaper boys in the 1920s. (“Gamin” is sometimes translated as “street urchin.”)

Painted plaster bust of African American newspaper boy from the 1920s

 “Gamin” by Augusta Savage (American, 1892–1962)

Image courtesy of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

From the expert: “Savage’s original 1929 bronze ‘Gamin,’ a life-size bust, was a sensation when it was exhibited at the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library,” says Melissa Barton, curator of prose and drama in the Yale Collection of American Literature at the Beinecke. “Viewers loved the expressiveness of the young boy’s face, and many requested copies from the artist. She obliged them with miniature plaster replicas like the one in Yale’s collection, which measures just 23 centimeters.”

Learn more Explore Yale’s collections via LUX

Focal Point