Robert Savon Pious (1908–1983) was a prolific painter, illustrator, and cartoonist whose work spanned newspapers, pulp magazines, posters, and portraits of prominent African Americans. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he moved to Chicago as a child, where he later attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago while working nights at a printing plant. In 1929, his pen-and-ink portrait of Roland Hayes won the prestigious Spingarn Prize from the William E. Harmon Foundation, solidifying his reputation as a talented young artist.

Pious left school to pursue commercial illustration, contributing editorial cartoons and advertisements to African American newspapers through Continental Features. He painted portraits of Chicago’s Black elite before receiving a scholarship to study at the National Academy of Design in New York. Moving to Harlem, he became an active participant in the Harlem Renaissance, collaborating with artists like Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence.

Despite his deep ties to New York, Pious remained connected to Chicago’s Black art scene. In 1940, he won first prize in a national poster contest for the American Negro Exposition, a historic world’s fair in Chicago. His poster became the cover of the Exposition’s official program.