Presents a brief biography of the artist whose clay profile of President Roosevelt was put on the U.S. dime.
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Selma Hortense Burke
was one of ten children born December 31, 1900, and raised in Mooresville, North Carolina to a Methodist minister , Selma adored playing in wet clay as a child. Selma would mold the soft clay of the riverbanks into small figures. In the 1920s, Burke became one of the few African American women to achieve fame during the Harlem Renaissance, which brought many black male artists and writers to the nation’s attention.

The joy it sparked followed her all the way through nursing school and her big move to New York in 1924. But quite literally, she couldn’t keep her hands to herself. Sculpting as much as she could on the side, Selma developed a particular talent for historical figures and nudes, and by the 1930s, nursing was officially on the back burner. Her honed talent and teaching chops garnered fellowships, awards and eventually three honorary doctorate degrees.

In 1941, Burke earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University in New York City. As a teacher, she conveyed her passion for sculpture to up-and-coming artists for the next 40 years. She taught at the Harlem Community Art Center and founded the Selma Burke Art School in New York and the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh.

If you ever seen an American dime? You’ve seen the work of Harlem Renaissance sculptor Selma Hortense Burke. Her 1945 bronze plaque of President Franklin D. Roosevelt who served as the model for the relief profile that graces the U.S. dime.

Selma Burke was an educator and had a lifelong commitment to serving the world around her. The coin bears the initials of its engraver, John Sinnock, and she has yet to receive credit for her permanent place in Americana.

She died in 1995 in Newtown, PA. The mere fact that a woman of African ancestry in the 1940’s was able to develop her talents & rise to such national prominence is testimony of the greatness and opportunity of America. That she continued to reach out and provide the opportunities for others to develop their own God given talents is testimony to the greatness of this most significant Black woman. She has forever woven through her craft sculptures which should be the Fabric of America.

The next time you see Roosevelt on a dime, think of Dr. Selma Burke.