Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller
Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller in 1910
Born	Meta Vaux Warrick June 9, 1877 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	March 18, 1968(1968-03-18) (aged 90) Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	University of the Arts, College of Art and Design, Académie Colarossi, École des Beaux-Arts
Occupation	Sculpture, Painting, Poetry
Movement	Harlem Renaissance
Spouse(s)	Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller (1909–1953)

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller (/ˈmiːtə ˈvaʊ/ MEE-tə VOW; born Meta Vaux Warrick, June 9, 1877 – 18 March 1968) was an African-American artist notable for celebrating Afrocentric themes. She was known as a multi-talented artist who wrote poetry, painted, and sculpted. At the turn of the twentieth century, she had achieved a reputation as a well-known sculptor in Paris before returning to the United States. She was a protege of Auguste Rodin, and has been described as "one of the most imaginative Black artists of her generation. Fuller created work with strong social commentary; she made a sculpture of Mary Turner, a young, pregnant black woman who was lynched in Georgia in 1918 the day after protesting the lynching of her husband. Warrick is considered a forerunner of the Harlem Renaissance, a movement among African Americans promoting their literature and art.

Meta Vaux Warrick was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Emma (née Jones) Warrick, a beautician, and William H. Warrick, a barber, both considered influential positions. Barbers especially often had powerful white clients. She was named after Meta Vaux, the daughter of Senator Richard Vaux, one of her mother's customers.

Philadelphia's large black community was socially and intellectually active. Warrick trained in art, music, dance and horseback riding. In the 20th century, thousands of rural blacks came from the South in the Great Migration, stimulating the growth of numerous black organizations and institutions. The rich cultural resources made it possible for middle-class black society to prosper. Education, cultural enrichment, and social activity were encouraged and expected in Warrick's family. She was among the few selected from the Philadelphia public schools to attend J. Liberty Tadd's art school.