Nancy Elizabeth Prophet
Negro Head, ca. 1924
Maple wood
52.1 x 27.9 x 35.6 cm (20 1/2 x 11 x 14 inches)
Gift of Miss Eleanor B. Green 35.780
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet (1890–1960), a trailblazing African American and Narragansett artist and RISD’s first known woman of color to graduate, was lauded last year at the RISD Museum exhibition I Will Not Bend an Inch. The exhibition then traveled to the Brooklyn Museum and is now on view in Atlanta through December 6 at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. It was especially impactful to have the exhibition travel to Spelman, as another homecoming for Prophet.
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend An Inch opening at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia, September 4 and 5, 2025. Photo by Julie Yarborough, courtesy of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art.
In 1933, Prophet was appointed an instructor in the newly created arts department at Atlanta University and its affiliated schools, including Spelman College. Over the next decade, Prophet was integral in developing what is now the Department of Art & Visual Culture along with esteemed artist Hale Woodruff. Prophet taught courses in modeling, drawing, and history of art and architecture.
The opening celebration at Spelman, held September 4 and 5, was full of joy and excitement, almost like Prophet’s spirit was present. Students, staff, and community members commented how special it was not only to honor Prophet’s legacy, but to learn about her impact on art education at Spelman. Notable attendees included RISD alum and current art faculty Kelly Taylor Mitchell, actor CCH Pounder along with Atlanta-area RISD alums, parents, and donors.
CCH Pounder (right) with another attendee at the Spelman opening. Photo by Julie Yarborough, courtesy of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art.
RISD donors with museum director Tsugumi Maki. Photo by Julie Yarborough, courtesy of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art.
Kelly Taylor Mitchell (RISD MFA 2018, Printmaking) (left) in conversation. Photo by Julie Yarborough, courtesy of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art.
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet’s former studio, Spelman College, Atlanta, 2025. Photo by Tara Emsley.
During her tenure, Prophet lived on Spelman’s campus in college housing. The east side of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art’s gallery, where most of her sculptures are currently installed, faces the building that once was Prophet’s studio space. After resigning from Spelman College in 1944, Prophet moved back to Rhode Island to pursue her artistic practice. She succumbed to a heart attack on December 13, 1960.
I co-curated the exhibition with Sarah Ganz Blythe and Dominic Molon, and we're delighted to have collaborated with many Rhode Island community members and scholars to have brought this exhibition to life and tour it to these historically significant venues. Female artists of color have often been relegated to the margins of art history, therefore it’s been restorative to help steward the homecoming of Nancy Elizabeth Prophet to museums that brought her work to the center.
To learn more about Prophet, see the book Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch, co-published by the RISD Museum and Yale University Press. And stay tuned for a forthcoming independent documentary directed by filmmaker Dianah Wynter as part of a series on Harlem Renaissance women.
Kajette Solomon is the social equity and inclusion specialist at the RISD Museum.