Harmon foundation award

DEFINITION

Established in 1926 by William E. Harmon (1862-1928), it was a cash prize from his Foundation, set up in 1922, for emerging African-American artists. Harmon was intrigued by the talent he was seeing among this group, especially in Harlem of New York City. The prizes were $400.00 each and were in the categories of music, literature, visual arts, science, industry, education and race relations. This attention brought much prestige to the recipients who included William H. Johnson, Augusta Savage, Aaron Douglas and Palmer Hayden. In 1928, the Foundation held the first art exhibition devoted exclusively to African-American artists. Source: artsedge. kennedy-center.org/exploring/harlem/faces/harmon_text.html