"The Gentleman”
Alonzo Aden"
Bronze; 1928
(Barnett Aden Collection

(1877-1931) was born to middle class parents in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the first African American woman to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied from 1895-1898 and on scholarship from 1900-1902. Jackson was invited by fellow sculptor, Meta Warrick Fuller to further study in Europe. She declined this invitation and married Tecumeshe Herman Jackson in 1902. They moved to Washington, D.C., where she maintained an art studio and taught at Howard
University from 1922-1924. Although Jackson chose not to study in Europe, her portrait busts reflect the naturalistic representation that prevailed in Europe.
African Americans like W.E.B. Dubois and poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar, became the subjects of her portrait busts. She demonstrated her ability to capture her subjects likeness, and portrayed their humanity in a sensitive manner as seen in her works, Slave Boy, (1899-1900), Alonzo Aden, (1928) bronze. She died in 1931 without achieving critical recognition for her
sculptures.

Photo by Quentin Moses © 2002