{"data":{"id":"1060","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":1060,"topgoose_id":1147,"tms_id":1060,"display_name":"Nancy Elizabeth Prophet","sort_name":"Prophet Nancy Elizabeth","display_date":"1890–1960","begin_date":"1890","end_date":"1960","biography":"\u003cp\u003eA revered sculptor of the early twentieth\ncentury, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet was\none of the first African American women\nto establish a critically recognized\ncareer as an artist. After graduating from\nthe Rhode Island School of Design,\nProphet moved in 1922 to Paris, where she\nwould remain for the next twelve years.\nThere she found greater freedom from the\nsocietal obstacles she encountered\nin the United States, including opportunities\nto enter into the traditionally male-\ndominated field of sculpture. After studying\nat the École des Beaux-Arts, Prophet began\nto make portrait busts carved out of wood\nor stone. Unable to afford the cost of hiring\na model, she often sculpted from her\nimagination, creating portraits of cultural or\nethnic types rather than individuals.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/collection/works/17\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eCongolais\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e, Prophet’s best-known work,\nis one of a series of busts she made in the\nlate 1920s and early 1930s focused on\nAfrican and African American figures.\nThis cherrywood portrait of a Masai warrior\nreflects Prophet’s response to the New\nNegro Movement in the United States,\nwhich exhorted African American artists to\nstudy and emulate a wide range of African\nobjects in order to develop a distinctive\ncultural style. Though inspired by examples\nof African art Prophet saw firsthand in\nParis, \u003cem\u003eCongolais\u003c/em\u003e represents a generalized\nfigure (indeed, the work’s title refers\nto the Congolese nation of Central Africa\nrather than to the East African Masai\ntribe). By emphasizing the warrior’s expansive\nforehead and serene, contemplative\nexpression, Prophet imbued \u003cem\u003eCongolais\u003c/em\u003e with\nthe universal values she sought to\nassociate with African culture: poise,\nbravery, reason, and intellect.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":false,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500329392","wikidata_id":"Q3335569","created_at":"2017-08-30T16:06:20.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-11T07:00:48.347-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/1060/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/1060/exhibitions"}}}}