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Savoy by Richard Yarde
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
Savoy
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography

Savoy

Artist
Year1989
Classification sculpture
Medium painted plywood, plexiglas and fluorescent lightbulbs
Dimensions144 x 118 x 18 in. (365.8 x 299.7 x 45.7 cm)
Credits Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Location
  • The mural consists of a painted wooden relief with lightbulb illumination on the marquee.  The couples depicted dancing are doing the "Savoy Lindy Hop."  The work was conceived of as a tribute to the important aspects of African-American dance that were created at the Savoy Ballrooom over a thirty year time period. The dance hall provided a place for improvisation and invention.  Many of the Savoy dancers migrated to Jamaica, Queens, in the 1940s, including Frank Manning, who was the major choreographer for the professional dancers.  This work is dedicated to him and his legacy.  Yarde writes:  "It is my hope that the mural will serve to help our people remember the important contribution that Afro-American people have made to dance in this country."