This Day in History: 1914-02-02

African American sculptor William Ellisworth Artis is born in Washington, North Carolina. Ellisworth’s favorite medium was clay, which gave him a broad range of expression. He moved to New York as a teen in 1927, and was a pupil of Augusta Savage and exhibited with the Harmon Foundation. He was featured in the 1930s film A Study of Negro Artists, along with Savage and other artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance, including Richmond Barthé, James Latimer Allen, Palmer Hayden, Aaron Douglas, Lois Mailou Jones, and Georgette Seabrooke. Artis taught at the Harlem YMCA, and later served on the faculties of Nebraska State Teachers College, as Professor of Ceramics at Chadron State College and as Professor of Art at Mankato State College. Learn more.