Biography
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), a sculptor of French-Irish immigrant roots, was the most esteemed American sculptor of his day. Over four decades, he lived in New York, Paris, Rome, and Cornish, New Hampshire. Saint-Gaudens worked in Cornish during the summers between 1885 and 1897, and then year-round after 1900. His outstanding works include major public commissions, such as Admiral David Glasgow Farragut Monument (1877–80) and General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument (1892–1903) in New York; Abraham Lincoln: The Man (Standing Lincoln) (1884–87) in Chicago; Adams Memorial (1886–91) in Washington, DC; and Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial (1884–97) in Boston. Saint-Gaudens also produced portrait busts and reliefs of many notable individuals, and created designs for the US $10 and $20 gold coins first minted in 1907.
References
Gaich, Catherine, et al. Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1848-1907: A Master of American Sculpture. Exh. cat., Musée des Augustins, Toulouse, and Musée National de la Coopération Franco-Américaine, Château de Blérancourt. Paris: Somogy, 1999.
Dryfhout, John H. The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens.1982. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 2008.
Duffy, Henry J., and John H. Dryfhout. Augustus Saint-Gaudens: American Sculptor of the Gilded Age. Exh. cat. Washington, D.C.: Trust for Museum Exhibitions, 2003.
Greenthal, Kathryn. Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Master Sculptor. Exh. cat. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985.
Saint-Gaudens, Homer, ed. The Reminiscences of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. 2 vols. New York: Century Co., 1913.
Tolles, Thayer. “Augustus Saint-Gaudens” in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 66, no. 4 (Spring 2009): 5-79.
Tolles, Thayer. “Augustus Saint-Gaudens,” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Learn More
Wilkinson, Burke. Uncommon Clay: The Life and Works of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985.
Public Sculpture
Boston
Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial (1884–97), Boston Common. Learn More
Chicago
Abraham Lincoln: The Man (Standing Lincoln) (1884–87), Lincoln Park. Learn More
New York
Admiral David Glasgow Farragut Monument (1877–80), Madison Square Park. Learn More
General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument (1892–1903), Grand Army Plaza. Learn More
Philadelphia
Diana (1892–93), Philadelphia Museum of Art. Learn More
Washington, DC
Adams Memorial (1886–91), Rock Creek Cemetery. Learn More