Ms. Selma Hortense Burke Archives

Ms. Selma Hortense Burke was born on December 31, 1900 in Mooresville, North Carolina to Neil and Mary Cofield Burke. Growing up she attended a one-room segregated school house, often playing with riverbed clay to pass her time. Burke’s early interest in sculpting was supported by her maternal grandmother who was a painter at the time. She began her Bachelor’s at Winston-Salem State University, but went on to graduate from the St. Agnes Training School for Nurses.

Burke went on to move to Harlem working as a private nurse. While in Harlem she soon became involved with the Harlem Renaissance cultural movement, working closely with Claude McKay. Later, she went on to teach for the Harlem Community Arts Center which was run by a fellow sculptor, Augusta Savage. She then worked for the Works Progress Administration on the New Deal Federal Art Project, where she created a bust of Booker T. Washington. Due to her work, Burke traveled the world on different fellowships to study Sculpture and create some significant works, one of which was “Frau Keller” (1937).

After traveling, Burke earned her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University. She went on to found both the Selma Burke School of Sculpture in New York City and then the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a sculptor, Burke created portraits of famous African-American figures, lesser known subjects, and expressionalistic works working in a wide variety of media (brass, alabaster and limestone). Burke holds a number of honors to her credit, because of her contributions to arts and education, notably a lifetime achievement award from President Jimmy Carter and the Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.

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