I am Gail Tanzer, and I write historical fiction about artists who were once well-known but whose work and contributions have been almost forgotten. Every great piece of art is a reflection of the history of the time as well as of the individual artist’s soul. I try to tell the story of both.
To research my next historical fiction book—Savage Heart—I went to Green Cove Springs in February 2018 to study the town in which she was born.
After going to Green Cove Springs, Florida (Savage’s birthplace), I went to New York City to research her life there.
A statue done by Augusta Savage in the 1930s to show how slaves felt when they realized there was no good future for them. This work, along with many of her other works, cannot be found.
This is the road to the house Augusta lived in when she left New York City. Here is the road sign that the community chose to replace the one that originally said “Nigger Road. (After a while one of the g’s was taken out to make the sign look like NIG ER Road). Augusta Savage was well-received in Saugerties when she came in the 1940s. However, she chose to spend most of her time tending her little farm, taking notes at a laboratory, and visiting with the neighbor children. She did about seven works of art in Saugerties but left the art world for the most part…while only in mid-life.
Karlyn Knaust Elia and Dick Duncan purchased the house and are restoring it with tender loving care.
