Nancy Elizabeth Prophet collection (MSS-0028)

Special Collections

Rhode Island College
600 Mount Pleasant Ave
Providence, RI, 02908
Tel: 401-456-8380
email:digitalcommons@ric.edu

Inventory

Series 1. Photographs and slides, circa 1920-1986
0.40 cubic feet

Series 1. Subseries 1a. Artwork, circa 1924-1958
0.30 cubic feet

This subseries contains photographs of Nancy Elizabeth Prophet’s sculptures. Many of the artwork shown in these images is believed to have been destroyed, therefore only photographs remain.

Container	Description	Date
Box 1, Folder 1	Bust of black man, labeled “for dad” 2 photographs	1923
Box 1, Folder 2	“The Charlatan” 1 photograph General Note: Removed for exhibit until 2026	1925
Box 1, Folder 3	“Congolaise” 8 photographs General Note: Original piece located at the Whitney Museum	1931
Box 1, Folder 4	“Discontent” 4 photographs General Note: Original piece located at RISD Museum	circa 1929
Box 1, Folder 5	“Confidence” 1 photograph General Note: Removed for exhibit until 2026	1926
Box 1, Folder 6	“Facing the Light” bas relief in wood 4 photographs	1931
Box 1, Folder 7	“Head in Wood” 3 photographs	1944
Box 1, Folder 8	Head of man, not labeled 4 photographs	1929
Box 1, Folder 9	“Head Over Lifesize” 3 photographs	1958
Box 1, Folder 10	“Head With High Cap in Wood” 3 photographs	1940
Box 1, Folder 11	Mask 3 photographs General Note: Original piece located at Rhode Island College	circa 1957-1958
Box 1, Folder 12	Mask with hair 2 photographs General Note: One photograph removed for exhibit until 2026	1955
Box 1, Folder 13	“Sketch” mask 2 photographs General Note: One photograph removed for exhibit until 2026	1955
Box 1, Folder 14	“Negro in Wood” 5 photographs General Note: Original piece located at RISD Museum	1924
Box 1, Folder 15	“Pilgrim” 3 photographs	circa 1931
Box 1, Folder 16	“Pilgrim” 3 photographs	1931
Box 1, Folder 17	“Pilgrim” 3 photographs	circa 1931
Box 1, Folder 18	“Pilgrim” 5 photographs	circa 1931
Box 1, Folder 19	“Pilgrim” 11 photographs	circa 1931
Box 1, Folder 20	“Poise” 4 photographs	circa 1930-1932
Box 1, Folder 21	“The Reptile Woman” 2 photographs General Note: One photograph removed for exhibit until 2026	1929
Box 1, Folder 22	“Silence in Onyx” 4 photographs General Note: Original piece located at RISD Museum.	1926
Box 1, Folder 23	Standing figure of woman 1 photograph	1944
Box 1, Folder 24	“Taille direct in alabaster” 2 photographs General Note: One photograph removed for exhibit until 2026	1944
Box 1, Folder 25	“Tete de fou book ends” objects for commercial market 2 photographs General Note: One photograph removed for exhibit until 2026	1944
Box 1, Folder 26	“Torse in Stone over life size – destroyed to avoid transport” 5 photographs General Note: One photograph removed for exhibit until 2026	1933
Box 1, Folder 27	“Torse” 2 photographs General Note: One photograph removed for exhibit until 2026	1944
Box 1, Folder 28	Unfinished statue to be cut in marble 1 photograph	1926
Box 1, Folder 29	“Walk Among the Lillies” bas relief, unfinished, 2 versions 5 photographs General Note: Two photographs removed for exhibit until 2026	1931
Box 1, Folder 30	“Woman in Hat” plaster to be executed in wood 2 photographs General Note: One photograph removed for exhibit until 2026	1944

Series 1. Subseries 1b. Personal photographs, circa 1920-1960
0.05 cubic feet

The personal photographs in this subseries feature portraits of Nancy Elizabeth Prophet in Paris, Newport, and Atlanta, as well as portraits of her father, William H. [Proffit] Prophet.

Container	Description	Date
Box 1, Folder 31	Paris; On boat 7 photographs General Note: Two images, “Prophet in hat” and “Prophet in Paris” have been removed for exhibition through 2025a	1922-1929
Box 1, Folder 32	Newport and Atlanta 10 photographs	1932-1938
Box 1, Folder 33	Portraits of Nancy Elizabeth Prophet 5 photographs	1920-1960
Box 1, Folder 34	William H. Prophet in 1940; Photograph of plant 3 photographs	undated, 1940

Series 1. Subseries 1c. Slides, 1986
The slides in this subseries are copies of original photographs in subseries 1a and 1b. The slides were created in 1986 for class instruction purposes.

Container		Description		Date
Box 1, Folders 35-36		Slides		1986

Series 2. Artwork, undated, 1926
2.25 cubic feet

This series contains pencil sketches of cows, people, and a fountain; watercolor and chalk sketches of landscapes and cityscapes; and two sculpted heads of women.

Container	Description	Date
Box 2, Folder 1	Pencil sketches 4 sketches General Note: Removed for exhibit until 2026	undated
Box 2, Folder 2	Watercolor and chalk sketches 6 sketches General Note: Removed for exhibit until 2026	undated
Box 3	Terra Cotta mask, gilded with artist’s signature on reverse. 13 ½” tall General Note: Removed for exhibit until 2026	undated
Box 4	“Silence” bronze, head of woman, 13” tall [Original in marble at RISD, purchased from Prophet by Ellen Sharp] General Note: Removed for exhibit until 2026	1926

Series 3. Other files, circa 1938-2002
0.35 cubic feet

This series contains biographical articles on Nancy Elizabeth Prophet’s life. Exhibit catalogs detail where her artwork was displayed. The Advertisement for Lehmann Heredity Chart was likely owned by Prophet.

Container	Description	Date
Box 2, Folder 3	Advertisement for Lehmann Heredity Chart	1938
Box 1, Folder 37	Contemporary articles about Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, including obituary	undated, 1960
Box 1, Folder 38	“Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Sculptor” SAGE, Spring 1987	1987
Box 1, Folder 39	Citations and notes, collected by Carl Gross & Special Collections staff General Note: Xerographic copies of articles	undated
Box 1, Folder 40	Exhibit catalog for the Art Association of Newport General Note: Xerographic copies of originals from 1932	undated
Box 1, Folder 41	“In the Tradition: Nancy Elizabeth Prophet” QUIX	undated
Box 1, Folder 42	“The unfulfilled promise of Nancy Elizabeth Prophet” International Review of African American Artists	2002
Box 1, Folder 43	“Four from Providence” Bannister Gallery exhibit catalog	1978
Box 2, Folder 4	“I will not bend an inch: Elizabeth Prophet’s struggle to become an artist” Rhode Islander Magazine, July 10, 1994	1994 July 10

Series 4. Master’s cap and gown, undated
0.50 cubic feet

Box 5
The Master’s cap and gown in this series was likely worn by Nancy Elizabeth Prophet during Spelman College’s graduation ceremonies.

Container		Description		Date
Box 5		Master’s cap and gown		undated

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Nancy Elizabeth Prophet collection (MSS-0028)

Special Collections

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