By: Teresa B. Turner
Selma Hortense
Burke (b. Dec. 31, 1900-d. August 29, 1995), was born in Mooresville, (Iredell
County), North Carolina. Her parents were Neil and Mary Elizabeth
Cofield Burke. Her siblings were Geneva Olivea Burke Miller, Naomi
Burke Jackson, Zeta Burke Williams, William Neil Burke, Melrose Burke,
Rev. Charles D. Carta Burke, and, Rev. S. J. Burke, Presiding Elder of
the AME Zion Church. Rev. S. M. Jackson was her grandfather.
Selma attended grade school in Mooresville, NC and begin shaping white
clay from the riverbeds when she was very young. She begin talking
about becoming an artist at the age of five.
Selma
graduated from Slater Industrial and State Normal School (now Winston-Salem
State University). In 1924 she graduated from Saint Agnes School
of Nursing in Raleigh, NC. After graduation she moved to New York
and worked as a nurse while continuing to develop her art skills.
Grants from the Rosenwald Foundation and Boehler Foundation enabled her
to travel to Paris, France and Vienna, Austria. While in Vienna,
Austria she studied ceramic under Povoleny. Selma studied sculpture
under Maillol in Paris, France. Dr. Burke received her masters of
fine arts degree from Columbia University (New York) in 1941 and a Doctor
of Philosophy in arts and letters from Livingstone College (Salisbury,
NC). Dr. Burke was married to Harlem Renaissance writer, Claude McKay.
Selma
Burke has taught at Harvard University, Livingstone College, and Swarthmore
College. She established the Selma Burke School of Sculpture in New
York City and The Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh, PA. The following
schools bestowed honorary doctorate degrees upon Selma Burke:
Livingstone College, The James Teamer School of Religion (Charlotte, NC),
North Carolina Central State University (Durham, NC), Moore College of
Art (Philadelphia, PA), and Winston-Salem State University (Winston-Salem,
NC).
Dr. Burke has done sculptures of many famous people including Booker T.
Washington, George Washington Carver, Martin Luther King, Mary McLeod Bethume,
Duke Ellington, and
Mary Carlton Holiday
.
The Mary Holiday bust can be seen at the Iredell/Statesville Schools Central
Office. Her most famous piece is the bust of
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
that is on the United States dime.
President Roosevelt posed for Selma and the completed bronze plaque was
unveiled by President Harry S. Truman in 1945. The original plaque
can be seen at the Recorder of Deed Building in Washington. DC.
One
of my most precious memories was in February 1988, when Dr. Selma Burke
was a special guest for my fourth grade class. She spent three days
with us.
Back to Unity School May 22, 2000 by tbturner@iss.k12.nc.us