Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
American , b . Ireland , 1848 – 1907
Once referred to as the “ American Michelangelo ,” the work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens takes cues from the Italian Renaissance and the Beaux-Arts tradition . A master of form , his art embodies a sense of drama , sentiment , and honor . Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to French and Irish parents . When he was six months old , they immigrated to the United States eventually settling in New York City where his father sold “ French Ladies ’ Boots and Shoes .” After completing his education at age thirteen , Saint- Gaudens served as an apprentice to the cameo-cutter Louis Avet . After three years with Avet , who frequently underwent bouts of rage , Saint-Gaudens found a more amiable master in Jules Le Brethon . Thereafter , he moved to Paris in 1867 where he lived in the Latin Quarter with an Italian jeweler named Lupi . Here , he also began his formal studies , first at the Petite École and later at the École des Beaux-Arts under the sculptor François Jouffroy . Following the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War during the winter of 1870 , Saint-Gaudens moved to Rome where he met the painter Augusta Fisher Homer ; they married seven years later .
In 1876 , Saint-Gaudens received his first important commission — the Admiral David Farragut Monument . In collaboration with the architect Stanford White , the memorial was unveiled in 1881 . Now receiving a flood of commissions , Saint-Gaudens creations would go on to include a statue of Diana which topped White ’ s Madison Square Garden , interior projects for Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Henry Villard , as well as numerous public monuments honoring Abraham Lincoln , Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment , General William Tecumseh Sherman , and Mrs . Henry Adams . By 1900 , Saint-Gaudens ’ health was waning . Still taking on a number of commissions , he spent the remainder of his life working from his studio in Cornish , New Hampshire . In his tribute to Saint-Gaudens , the architect Glenn Brown writes : “ Augustus Saint-Gaudens , the great artist of the age ,
Kenyon Cox ( American , 1856 – 1919 ), Augustus Saint-Gaudens , 1887 , replica 1908 , oil on canvas , 33 1/2 x 47 1/8 in ., The Metropolitan Museum of Art , gift of friends of the artist , through August F . Jaccaci , 1908 , 08.130
was a charming companion , a true friend , and citizen leading to ideal life . His affable manner , quiet humor ,
quick appreciation , broad culture , and perfect taste made his companionship sought and enjoyed ” ( Brown , 240 ).
REFERENCES :
Aspet , H ., and Glenn Brown . Catalogue of Sculptured Works of Augustus Saint-Gaudens with Biographical Sketch . Chicago : Art Institute of Chicago , 1909 . “ Augustus Saint Gaudens .” The Independent , August 15 , 1907 , 405 . Dearinger , David Bernard , ed . Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design . Volume 1 , 1826 – 1925 . New York : Hudson Hills Press , 2004 .
Duffy , Henry J ., and John Dryfhout . Augustus Saint-Gaudens : American Sculptor of the Gilded Age . Washington , D . C .: Trust for Museum Exhibitions in cooperation with the Saint- Gaudens National Historic Site , Cornish , New Hampshire , 2003 .
Irwin , Grace . Trail-Blazers of American Art . New York : Harper & Brothers , 1930 .
Tharp , Louise Hall . Saint-Gaudens and the Gilded Era . Boston : Little , Brown and Company , 1969 .
Tolles , Thayer . Augustus Saint-Gaudens in The Metropolitan Museum of Art . New York : The Metropolitan Museum of Art , 2009 .
108 THE TILE CLUB : Camaraderie and American Plein-Air Painting