Black History Month: Selma Burke

Selma Hortense Burke (1900-1995) was a distinguished African-American woman sculptor and a dedicated educator. In addition to sculpting figures of women and children, she also made portraits of several prominent people, including the portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that is pictured on the dime. Several other photographic portraits of Burke are in the Smithsonian’s collections, along with photographs of her sculptures, including a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. in Charlotte, North Carolina.

See also: African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian

Pictured: Selma Burke in her studio. Photographed by Peter A. Juley & Son. Photograph Archives, Smithsonian American Art Museum, J0100404. To view the full record, click here. To read more about American Art's Photograph Archives, click here.

-Nicole Semenchuk, Research and Scholars Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum