New! Interactive Augusta Savage Teacher Set

The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture—in collaboration with NYPL's Digital Imaging Services and the Center for Educators and Schools—is excited to share a first-of-its-kind teaching tool on Augusta Savage, one of the most influential artists in Harlem in the 1930s.

The interactive set features 3D-printed replicas modeled after original artworks by Augusta Savage, preserved in the Art and Artifacts Division at the Schomburg Center. Also included in the set are laminated photographs of the artist at work from the Schomburg Center's Photographs and Prints Division and multiple copies of poet Marilyn Nelson's Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life, a young adult book that tells the story of her life in poems and photographs.

This tool is available as a Book Club Set from MyLibraryNYC, a program that offers more than 10,000 Teacher Sets from NYC public libraries in more than 30 languages and a variety of formats, delivered directly to classrooms. A Book Club Set comes with multiple copies of the same book for students to use in and out of the classroom.

Working toward expanding on the services already available to Research divisions, the Library's Digital Imaging Services volunteered to produce 3D scans, virtual models, and 3D prints for all of the materials included in this project. A structured light scanner was used to scan each sculpture from all possible angles, producing data that was then processed through specialized software to produce both an interactive virtual model and a printable STL file. Using an FDM 3D printer, a series of test prints were produced to determine the ideal size, weight, and level of detail for classroom use. Prints were sanded to better emulate the sheen and texture of the original sculptures and then delivered to the Center for Educators and Schools for circulation through the MyLibraryNYC program.

Educators can expand classroom collections with MyLibraryNYC, which offers more than 10,000 Teacher Sets from NYC public libraries in more than 30 languages and a variety of formats. Participating schools get access to more than 10,000 sets designed by librarians—delivered free to classrooms—and exclusive talks featuring authors in the collection in addition to instructional support and professional development events.

Explore this Teacher Set and more on the MyLibraryNYC web page.

Augusta Christine (Fells) Savage (b. February 29, 1892 – d. March 29, 1962) was born in Green Cove Springs, Florida the seventh child of 14 children born to Cornelia and Edward Fells. She was a precocious child and began sculpting from nature and making little animals from clay. Considered one of the most influential artists in Harlem in the 1930s, she was the first African American artist elected to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. In 1932 she opened the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts and in 1935 became a founding member of the Harlem Artist Guild. The Guild was formed to advocate for opportunities for Harlem artists especially on Federal Works Projects.  In 1937 Savage became the first director of the Harlem Community Art Center which would go on to be a model art center for other around the country. Her leadership and stature in the art community enabled her to land a commission to create a work for the 1939's World's Fair. Lift Every Voice and Sing (The Harp), a 16-foot plaster sculpture, was located at the entrance of the Contemporary Arts Building at the Fair.

Explore the Augusta Savage Libguide for more information!

Learn more and request the Augusta Savage kit for your classroom from MyLibraryNYC! 

This Teacher Set was made in collaboration between The New York Public Library's Center for Educators and Schools, Digital Imaging Services, the Art and Artifacts Division at the Schomburg Center, and Digital Schomburg. 

Special thanks to the following staff members at The New York Public Library: 

Kimberly Henderson, Digital Curator for the Schomburg Center

Tammi Lawson, Curator of the Art and Artifacts Division at the Schomburg Center

Rebecca Wack, Assistant Director of the Digital Imaging Services

Pete Riesett, Manager of Special Services and Technologies

Shauntee Burns-Simpson, Associate Director of the Center for Educators and Schools

Elisa Anais Garcia, Supervising Librarian of the MyLibraryNYC Collections