Inge Hardison

Inge Hardison
Born
Ruth Inge Hardison

(1914-02-03)February 3, 1914
DiedMarch 23, 2016(2016-03-23) (aged 102)
Occupation(s)Actress, Photographer, Sculptor, artist
Known for"Negro Giants in History" (1960s busts)
Children1

Ruth Inge Hardison (February 3, 1914 March 23, 2016) was an American sculptor, artist, and photographer, known particularly for her 1960s busts (or sculpted portraits) entitled "Negro Giants in History". Hardison's 1983 collection called "Our Folks", which features sculpted portraits of everyday people, is also of note. Her artistic productions largely surround historical black portraiture. She was especially interested in creatively representing the unspoken voices of the African American past. She was the only female in the Black Academy of Arts and Letters (BAAL), a group that encourages awareness of black artistic accomplishments, when this organization was founded in 1969.