
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Discontent, 1920s. Gift of Miss Eleanor Green and Miss Ellen D. Sharpe.
Introduction
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I will not bend an inch
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I will not bend an inch celebrates the work and legacy of this underrecognized 20th-century sculptor who is best known for her contributions to expatriate culture in Paris during the interwar period. Prophet (1890-1960) was one of the first known women of color to graduate from RISD and her work reflects skills developed through academic training with a distinctly Modernist sensibility. The first museum survey will feature three-dimensional sculptures of marble and wood, painted wood friezes, and watercolors as well as photographic presentations of archival documents and lost or destroyed sculptures.
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I will not bend an inch is presented at RISD with funds provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Research for this exhibition was supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art. RISD Museum is supported by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with the generous partnership of the Rhode Island School of Design, its Board of Trustees, and Museum Governors.