ORANGE PARK—The Women in American History Award, through the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), spotlights notable women, past and present, who have made a contribution or a difference in their communities. DAR chapters are encouraged to select such an individual from their state or community to honor, and the Sophia Fleming Chapter of Orange Park had to go no further than Green Cove Springs to find someone worthy of recognition, Augusta Christine Fells Savage.

Savage was honored posthumously at Sophia Fleming Chapter’s April awards meeting with the presentation of a framed certificate and Women in American History medal. Accepting the award on her behalf was Henrietta Davis-Francis, President of the Friends of Augusta Savage Arts & Community Center.

Augusta Savage, born in Green Cove Springs in 1892, became the first African American member of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors in 1934. She was a gifted sculptor, art teacher and community art program director during the Harlem Renaissance. In 1939, Savage was commissioned by the New York World’s Fair to create a sculpture, Lift Every Voice & Sing (also known as The Harp), which symbolized the musical contributions of African Americans. In fall 1940, it was destroyed by a bulldozer after the Fair’s closing because World’s Fairs were meant to be temporary. All that is left are small replicas and a few photos.

Little of Savage’s work survives today, mostly because she never had the means or support to cast them in more durable material. Perhaps this is the reason behind her often repeated quote: “I have created nothing really beautiful, really lasting, but if I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent I know they possess, then my monument will be in their work. No one could ask for more than that.”

Francis said, “It's heartbreaking to know that Augusta Christine Fells Savage left this world without ever seeing her hometown, or her county, give her the recognition she so profoundly deserved. For far too long, her brilliance and her contributions were overlooked in the very place that shaped her. But not anymore. Because of organizations like the Daughters of the American Revolution, her legacy is finally being lifted into the place it has always belonged—firmly and proudly within American history.”

Savage is memorialized in several ways. Her home in Saugerties, NY is on the National Register of Historical Places, the Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts opened in Baltimore, Maryland and Savage’s old high school building in Green Cove Springs was renovated into the Augusta Savage Arts & Community Center.

For more information about the Friends of Augusta Savage Arts & Community Center visit fasacc.org. For more information about DAR contact sophiaflemingchapter@gmail.com.