William Ellisworth Artis (February 2, 1914 – April 3, 1977)[1][2] was an African-American sculptor.

Born in Washington, North Carolina, he moved to New York as a teen in 1927. He was a pupil of Augusta Savage and exhibited with the Harmon Foundation. He studied at the Art Students League of New York and Syracuse University, where he worked with Ivan Meštrović. From 1941–45, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II.[1]

He later taught at Nebraska Teachers College in Kearney (today Chadron State College[3]), where from 1956 to 1966 he was Professor of Ceramics, and at Mankato State College as Professor of Art until 1975.

Link to bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Artis

Classroom resources: http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=27550