Selma Burke began playing with clay around the age of seven. And with that experience, she discovered a love of making sculptures. "It was there in 1907 that I discovered me," she said, looking back.
But for Selma, pursuing art as a career would take many years. Before she became an artist, Selma became a nurse after encouragement from her mother to pursue a financially stable career. Selma studied nursing and moved from North Carolina to New York City in the late 1920s to work as a private nurse.
While this decision was made for financial stability, the job landed her in one of the world's art centers. Enveloped in the thriving cultural landscape of New York, particularly the flourishing artistic milieu of the Harlem Renaissance, she rekindled her artistic flame. Selma discovered an enclave of like-minded artists, instigating a deeper exploration and commitment to her creative endeavors.
To improve her skills, Selma enrolled in art classes at Sarah Lawrence College. Further, she traveled to Europe and engaged in specialized training and innovative projects. Her dedication and pursuit of knowledge led her to earn an MFA from Columbia University in 1941. And demonstrating her passion for art education and sculpting, she inaugurated the Selma Burke School of Sculpture a year prior, even as she continued her studies.
Selma dedicated herself to teaching and making art. She would go on to create sculptures of numerous famous figures, including Duke Ellington and Martin Luther King Jr. However, her most famous work was a portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. That portrait hangs today at the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D.C.
After many years of sculpting and teaching others the art, Selma passed away in New Hope, Pennsylvania, in 1995.
Sources:
Brandman, Mariana. “Selma Burke.” National Women’s History Museum. 2021. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/selma-burke
Pinchos Horn. Selma Burke, 193-. Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection, circa 1920-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Lewis, Samella S. (2003). African American Art and Artists. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520239357
“Selma Burke.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_Burke
“Selma-Burke-WPA-1935.” Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Foundation, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Selma-Burke-WPA-1935.jpg
lovely story subject, photo, narrator, very inspiring. Selma Burke..