# The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture - Hardcover

by **Karen Lemmey** (Author), **Tobias Wofford** (Author), **Grace Yasumura** (Author)

**A major new survey of American sculpture, exploring how it both reflects and redefines concepts of race and identity in the United States**

How does American sculpture intersect with the history of race in the United States? The three-dimensional qualities of sculpture give it a distinct advantage over other art forms in capturing a subject's likeness, and our minds can swiftly conjure a body and racialize it from the most minimal of prompts. _The Shape of Power_ examines the role of American sculpture, from the nineteenth century to today, in understanding and constructing the concept of race in the United States and how this medium has shaped the way generations have learned to visualize and think about race.

Exploring the relationship between sculpture and ideas about race in the United States, this book provides fresh perspectives on artists ranging from Hiram Powers, Edmonia Lewis, and Augusta Savage to Barbara Chase-Riboud, Titus Kaphar, Raven Halfmoon, Sanford Biggers, Betye Saar, Yolanda L?pez, and Simone Leigh. It reveals how sculptors use this versatile medium to challenge discriminatory ideologies and entrenched social and cultural constructions of race while offering bold new visions of community, identity, and selfhood.

Featuring superb illustrations of sculptural works in a broad range of media, _The Shape of Power_ contributes new scholarship to the understudied field of American sculpture, which hasn't been the subject of a major publication survey in more than fifty years.

Published in association with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC

**Exhibition Schedule**  
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC  
November 8, 2024-September 14, 2025

### Author Biography

**Karen Lemmey** is the Lucy S. Rhame Curator of Sculpture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. **Tobias Wofford** is associate professor of art history at Virginia Commonwealth University. **Grace Yasumura** is assistant curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

**Number of Pages:** 292

**Dimensions:** 1.3 x 12.3 x 9.8 IN

**Publication Date:** November 12, 2024

## Details

- **Price:** 65.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 65.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/the-shape-of-power-stories-of-race-and-american-sculpture-hardcover)
> Updated: 2026-07-21