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Ad Code: 2
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from Auction House Records.
Model for Victory for the First Division
Artwork images are copyright of the artist or assignee
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Biography from AskART:
| Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, Daniel Chester French, along with
Augustus Saint- Gaudens, became one of the leading sculptors of the
late 19th Century and a key figure in developing the sculpture
collection of living artists for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York City. He was credited with developing a style of naturalism
in his sculpture that was a welcome counter to the prevailing
neo-classical idealism.
Many of his works were large public monuments, and his first major commission was Minuteman, in 1874, for Concord, Massachusetts. One of his most famous works was Republic,
which was installed at the 1893 World's Columbian Expo at
Chicago. His last major piece was the seated Abraham Lincoln at
the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
French lived in Concord,
Massachusetts during his youth and came under the influence of the
circle of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott. Choosing to
become a sculptor, he learned from William Morris Hunt, William Rimmer
and John Quincy Adams Ward. He departed from the prevalent
neo-classical style and depicted figures in authentic historical garb.
In
Italy, he studied with Thomas Ball. Returning to the United
States, he did many public monument figures such as Abraham Lincoln,
his most famous work, which is at the state capitol building in
Lincoln, Nebraska, and of course, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington
DC.
In 1903, he was elected a trustee of the Metropolitan
Museum, and until his death 28 years later was the de facto curator of
sculpture, building the core collection of the Museum's beaux arts
works. His directive was to secure pieces by living artists whose
pieces illustrated the development of that art in the United
States. As a result, he visited the studios of all the leading
sculptors, which led to important acquisitions including work by
Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Frederic Remington.
Sources include:
Matthew Baigell, Dictionary of American Art
Peter Falk, Who Was Who in American Art
Peter Hassrick, Drawn to Yellowstone
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| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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Daniel French is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
Cornish Colony
San Francisco Panama-Pacific Exhibition 1915
Sculptors
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