20th Century
William Artis’ family, like tens of thousands of other black families, migrated north to New York in the early 20th century to escape the repressive Jim Crow laws of the south.
William Elllisworth Artis
1914–1977
William Artis’ family, like tens of thousands of other black families, migrated north to New York in the early 20th century to escape the repressive Jim Crow laws of the south.
William Artis’ family, like tens of thousands of other black families, migrated north to New York in the early 20th century to escape the repressive Jim Crow laws of the south.
William Elllisworth Artis
1914–1977
William Artis’ family, like tens of thousands of other black families, migrated north to New York in the early 20th century to escape the repressive Jim Crow laws of the south.
Artis, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine art from Syracuse University, drew inspiration from variety of sources including sculptor Ivan Mestrovic and Augusta Savage. One of the many artists who studied sculpture at Savage’s studio in the early 1930s, Artis’ work was featured in Harmon Foundation exhibitions.
In 1933, he won the Foundation’s John Hope Prize in sculpture, which helped to facilitate his enrollment at the Art Students League (1933-34). Artis is remembered for his terracotta and stone portrait busts. “The late 1940s and early 1950s were a pivotal period as Artis garnered national media attention and numerous awards. Artis’ sculpture, along with that of his contemporaries, was featured in the July 1946 issue of Life magazine,“not because they were done by Negroes but because they represent some of the best works turned out by American artists today.”
Later in his professional career Artis, served as Professor of Ceramics at Nebraska Teachers College (1956-1966) and as Professor of Art at Mankato State College.
Image Credit: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
The Artist’s Work in Other Collections (selected)
• Walker Art Center (New York City)
• Howard University (Washington, DC)
• Atlanta University Museum, (Atlanta, Georgia)
• Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC.)
• Whitney Museum of American Art (New York)
Exhibitions (Artist)
• The Harmon Foundation- Against the Odds, an exhibition of African American Artists from the Harmon Foundation (1933).
• Fisk University-Two Centuries of Black American Art
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The Artist’s Work In Other Collections
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Exhibitions (Artist)
No items found.
Awards, Commissions, Public Works
John Hope Prize for Sculpture (Harmon Foundation), Rosenwald Fund Fellowship
Affiliations (Past And Current)
The Harmon Foundation
Harlem Renaissance
Augusta Savage
WPA (Works Progress Administration)
Member-National Sculpture Society
Notable
--Artis was once hired by Audrey McMahon, the director of the College Art Association, along with several other artists to teach crafts and paint murals in churches and community centers.
--He studied with the sculptor Ivan Mestrovic of Croatia and was student at the Vienna Academy in Paris, where came to the attention of renowned French sculptor Auguste Rodin
--Served in the Air Force during WWII.
Artist Objects
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