Spirit of Bessie Coleman

Spirit of Bessie Coleman is a twelve-foot-tall painted steel pole sculpture created  by artist Bernard Williams. The work honors Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman pilot who broke barriers and paved the way for future generations of Black pilots in the early 20th century. 

Coleman was born in Texas in 1892, and moved to Chicago in 1915, where her desire to fly was born. Because no American aviation school would admit her as a student, she moved to France, and obtained her pilot license in 1921.

In this work, Williams celebrates Bessie’s life, utilizing themes and symbols of mobility, inspired by her career in aviation, and her ambition, which progressed history forward.

Thank you to the City of Elmhurst, the Public Art Commission for the City of Elmhurst, & Explore Elmhurst for providing grant funding for the permanent installation of The Spirit of Bessie Coleman on this site. 

This abstract metal sculpture is one of two works created for the exhibition CROSSINGS at Elmhurst Art Museum. The sculptures resemble sign posts, referencing a confluence of past, present, and future by pointing in multiple directions simultaneously. 

The history of Bessie Coleman was also celebrated in Williams’ life-sized airplane sculpture, Spirit of Bessie Coleman #2, together with Portrait of Bessie Coleman, a monumental portrait bust sculpture. Both works were created for the exhibition and presented inside the Elmhurst Art Museum’s Hostetler Gallery. The pieces were visible through the windows of the Museum.