World Renowned Artist Faces Eviction

An artist's rich history still can't pay the bills.

95 year old Inge Hardison. renowned sculptor, actress and photographer, is a true renaissance woman in every sense of the word. Her most famous work, "Negro Giants in History" is her singular outstanding contribution to the legacy of the African American experience.
The busts and statues adorn the foyers of many American universities and businesses.

Inge says, "I became a model, somebody saw me and I went to the Art Student League and I posed and they thought I was good, it was like static dancing."

But it was her talent at sculpting that she discovered when she was not posing.

"That was a surprise....as I paused to rest after posing, I would handle the clay and people began to buy what I was doing."

A statue of Sojouner Truth, a bust of Frederick Douglas, Dr Martin Luther King; photos, historical snapshots seen thru the prism of one woman, who literally honed and molded her god given talent into creations that tell a story of people, who's adventure is still unfolding before us.

Inge Hardison met many of these amazing people before she immortalized them and she realizes how fortunate she has been.

Sadly, fortune is not shining on Inge these days. Her life-long business manager and partner passed away in 2004. Inge's daughter moved back home to help her mother. It has not gone well and the two are facing eviction from their Central Park West apartment.

As Inge's daughter Yoland says, "Unfortunately as is true with a lot of artists, their income doesn't match what is necessary".

While Inge has Social Security and foodstamps,and Yolande works part time, it doesn't cover everything.

Their expenses were subsidised by two grants, but the foundations stopped their funding because Yolande says they didn't like the way she was handling her mother's affairs.

Yolande admits to not having a lot of experience selling her mother's work. "I don't know the procedure...I tried to talk to the Schomberg Museum. I haven't heard too much from them lately".

Now at 95 Inge is also also battling the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. While she may not fully understand the dire financial circumstances that surround her, she still enjoys creating and working with clay.

It's impossible to put a price on Inge Hardison's contribution to society, but its important that viewers know who this woman is and what she has done.

Inge says, "Look into yourself and see what you really want to do, without any fear and see how it would feel if you gave yourself to it and how it would feel. Afraid? I can't do that! They don't know, you have to be true to yourself".