Podcast
Questions and Answers
In what year did Selma Burke become involved with the Harlem Renaissance cultural movement?
In what year did Selma Burke become involved with the Harlem Renaissance cultural movement?
1935
What is another name for the Harlem Renaissance?
What is another name for the Harlem Renaissance?
The Black Literary Renaissance
What was the name of Selma Burke's significant work completed in 1936?
What was the name of Selma Burke's significant work completed in 1936?
Frau Keller
What job did Selma Burke choose to do during World War II?
What job did Selma Burke choose to do during World War II?
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Where did Selma Burke earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1941?
Where did Selma Burke earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1941?
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What was the name of the school Selma Burke founded in 1940?
What was the name of the school Selma Burke founded in 1940?
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In what year did Selma Burke open her art school in New York City?
In what year did Selma Burke open her art school in New York City?
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Why did Selma Burke open her art schools?
Why did Selma Burke open her art schools?
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Where did Selma Burke face a discriminatory issue with a public library?
Where did Selma Burke face a discriminatory issue with a public library?
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What was Selma Burke's opinion about artists during World War II?
What was Selma Burke's opinion about artists during World War II?
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Study Notes
Selma Burke's Life and Career
- In 1935, Selma Burke married writer Claude McKay, but he passed away only a year later.
- Burke was involved with the Harlem Renaissance cultural movement through her marriage and later became a part of it.
The Harlem Renaissance
- The Harlem Renaissance was a movement in African-American culture in the 1920s and 1930s that greatly influenced African-American literature, philosophy, and music.
- It is also known as the "Black Literary Renaissance".
- The movement challenged white Americans' thinking towards black Americans and refused to copy white American art, literature, and music.
- It celebrated the survival of African culture through the slave era and its subsequent rebirth.
Selma Burke's Art and Activism
- In 1936, while in Paris, Burke created "Frau Keller", a portrait of a German-Jewish woman, in response to the rising Nazi threat.
- During World War II, Burke worked as a truck driver in a factory at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, believing that "artists should get out of their studios" during the war.
Education and Teaching
- In 1941, Burke earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University, funded by a graduate school scholarship.
- In 1940, she founded the Selma Burke School of Sculpture in New York City, demonstrating her commitment to teaching art.
- In 1946, Burke opened the Selma Burke Art School in New York City, and later established the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Community Involvement
- Burke used her art to bring people together and create opportunities for social change.
- She donated a bust of a local doctor to the town of Mooresville on the condition that the ban on black children using the public library be removed, and the town accepted.
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Description
Learn about Selma Burke's involvement with the Harlem Renaissance movement and its impact on African-American culture, literature, philosophy, and music.
