MEMPHIS, TN.- The Dixon Gallery and Gardens welcomes Augusta Savage’s Gamin on January 19 – March 23, 2014. Celebrating the Dixon’s recent acquisition of this landmark sculpture, this exhibition looks at Savage and Gamin and their place in the larger context of early twentieth century African American art.

Surrounded by works from notable artists in The Horseman Collection including Elizabeth Catlett, Aaron Douglas, and Bob Thompson, Augusta Savage’s Gamin reveals the emotions, history, and politics that informed Savage’s work and that of her contemporaries.

This outstanding exhibition presents the work of black artists from the twentieth century who experimented with a range of subjects and styles in ways that express the diversity and vitality of African American art and identity. Although centered in Harlem, the spirit of the cultural movement found expression in cities and art centers across America from the 1920s onward. Figures like Savage inspired black artists to find their artistic voice in ways that often celebrated the African American experience.

Gamin was a breakthrough work for Augusta Savage in 1929. On the strength of this particular sculpture, art patrons in New York contributed to the expense of sending her to Europe for additional study. Savage is part of an important lineage of American artists who sought experience and education in Europe, including a number who are already represented in the Dixon’s permanent collection: Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, Maurice Prendergast, and Theodore Butler to name a few.

Gamin is also a breakthrough work for the Dixon. It is the first acquisition from an African American artist and adds to our collection of works by women and sculptors. This extraordinary exhibition will be on view through March 23. Gamin will remain on view in the residence with other Dixon masterpieces of the nineteenth and twentieth century.