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Installation view of Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend An Inch on view 02-17-2024 through 07-28-2024 at the RISD Museum.

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet

I Will Not Bend An Inch
February 17 - August 4, 2024
Installation view of Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend An Inch on view 02-17-2024 through 07-28-2024 at the RISD Museum.

Introduction

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.

Dominic Molon, Interim Chief Curator & Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art, Sarah Ganz Blythe, deputy director of exhibitions, education, and programs, Kajette Solomon, social equity and inclusion specialist,

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend An Inch is made possible with funding from 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.

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Events

  • Critical Encounters

Critical Encounters

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet’s Work and Legacy
March 15, 2024 / 1-5 pm

Yelp Tour

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet
February 29, 2024 / 5:30-7 pm
Three quarter front view of a dull wooden sculpture depicting a serene face wearing a draped cloth around its head. It features smooth contours and a vertical crack alongside its nose.
  • Virtual

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet

I Will Not Bend an Inch
February 17 - August 4, 2024

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet

Member Preview Tour
February 16, 2024 / 12-5 pm

Publications

  • Books

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch

Through original essays, catalogue entries on Nancy Elizabeth Prophet’s major works, and an illustrated chronology of her remarkable life, this book reframes Prophet’s powerful work and legacy. Contributors trace the artist’s transatlantic career, from Parisian ateliers to Spelman College, and consider topics such as the art institutions Prophet navigated, the stylistic connections between her figurative sculpture and the work of her modernist contemporaries, her Afro-Indigenous heritage, and how she resisted predetermined conceptions of her cultural identity.

Videos

Video

Critical Encounters

Video

Leland Baker in Conversation with NEP as curated by Renée Neely

Shorts

Defiance! Art and Life

Related Objects

Photograph depicting the bust of a figure with a tall round headpiece, in a three quarter view. The face looks serene and the clay-like material emphasizes its textured surface.

Bernès Marouteau & Cie

Night
Photograph depicting a sculpture of a figure leaning forwards; a brick wall is visible in the background. The figure is in drapery and the hands are placed above the pelvis.

Bernès Marouteau & Cie

Statue
Photograph depicting the bust of a male presenting figure in marbled stone; presented in profile against a dark backdrop. The face is serene and the material emphasizes the body’s veins.

Bernès Marouteau & Cie

Poise
Photograph depicting a mask of a face in three quarter view, emphasizing textured details, against a dark background. The eyes on the face lack pupils, giving them a blank look.

Bernès Marouteau & Cie

Mask
Photograph depicting a sculpture of a robed male presenting figure in profile, showing textured details, against a dark background. The face looks serene and body language demonstrates a calm demeanor.

Bernès Marouteau & Cie

Pilgrim

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet : I Will Not Bend An Inch

February 17 - August 4, 2024
Download Checklist pdf

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet : I Will Not Bend An Inch

February 17 - August 4, 2024
Download Press Release pdf

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