America / c. 1929
Gamin
Gamin
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Gamin as sculpture (America · c. 1929).
WHY IT’S INTERESTING
A trailblazer, Savage was the first African American member of the National Association of Women Artists.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as hand-painted plaster and credits Augusta Savage (American, 1892–1962).
The museum's collection notes: Augusta Savage was the most acclaimed sculptor working during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and ‘30s, and Gamin is her most famous work. It was long thought that the image was a generic figure; however, recent research reveals that it depicts her nephew. The warm characterization likely arises from the close bond shared between artist and model. Although several small versions of the sculpture were produced, this life-size, hand-painted plaster is unique, and likely the oldest surviving example of the subject.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtGaminOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.