An African American sculptor, Selma Burke (1900-1995) created the relief sculpture rendering of Franklin Delano Roosevelt which appears on the dime.

Selma Burke is an artist whose career has spanned more than sixty years. She was born in Mooresville, North Carolina, in 1900, and received her training as a sculptor at Columbia University in New York. She also studied with Maillol in Paris and in Vienna with Povoley. World War II interrupted her work in Europe and she returned to the United States to continue her artistic and humanitarian pursuits. She is best known for her relief sculpture rendering of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that was minted on the American dime.

Founder of the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she has taught many and supported numerous artists from the period of the Depression through the present day.

The Pearl S. Buck Foundation Woman's Award was given to her in 1987 for her professional distinction and devotion to family and humanity. Notable works include Falling Angel; Peace; and Jim.

Burke died of cancer August 29, 1995 in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Historical Context

• The Life and Times of Selma Burke (1900-1995)
• At the time of Burke's birth:
• Benjamin Harris was the president of the United States
• Sigmund Freud pioneered psychoanalysis
• Jazz music originated in New Orleans
• At the time of Burke's death:
• Bill Clinton was the president of the United States
• A car bomb destroyed Oklahoma's Murrah Federal Building, killing 168
• Walt Disney Co. purchased Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion
• The times:
• 1914-1918: World War I
• 1939-1945: World War II
• 1946-1987: The Cold War
• 1950-1953: Korean War
• 1957-1975: Vietnam War
• 1983: American invasion of Grenada
• 1991: Persian Gulf War
• 1992-1996: Civil War in Bosnia
• Burke's contemporaries:
• Margaret Mead (1901-1978) American anthropologist
• Ansel Adams (1902-1984) American photographer
• Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987) American writer
• Lucille Ball (1911-1989) American comedian
• Judy Garland (1922-1969) American actress/singer
• Alex Haley (1924-1992) American writer
• Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) American writer/playwright
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933--) United States Supreme Court justice
• Elvis Presley (1935-1977) American rock singer
• Selected world events:
• 1903: Ford Motor Company was incorporated
• 1912: Jim Thorpe won the decathlon in the Olympic games
• 1922: The Harlem Renaissance began
• 1929: The U.S. stock market crash started the Great Depression
• 1940: Ernest Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" was published
• 1954: The U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional
• 1961: The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba failed
• 1973: The U.S. launched "Skylab", its first space station
• 1981: Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female Supreme Court justice
• 1993: A terrorist bomb exploded at New York's World Trade Center

Further Reading

• New York Times, September 2, 1995.
• Washington Post, September 1, 1995.