American sculptor and architectural sculptor (1870–1952)
Adolph Alexander Weinman
Born (1870-12-11 ) December 11, 1870Died August 8, 1952(1952-08-08) (aged 81) Nationality German-American Education Known for Sculpture
Adolph Alexander Weinman (December 11, 1870 – August 8, 1952) was a
German -born American sculptor and
architectural sculptor .
Early life and education
Bas-relief portrait of Weinman by
Anthony de Francisci , 1915
Adolph Alexander Weinman was born in
Durmersheim , near
Karlsruhe , Germany. He immigrated to the United States in 1885 at the age of 14.
[1] At the age of 15, he attended evening classes at
Cooper Union and later studied at the
Art Students League of New York with sculptors
Augustus Saint-Gaudens and
Philip Martiny .
Career
He worked as an assistant to the sculptors
Charles Niehaus ,
Olin Warner , and
Daniel Chester French before opening his own studio in 1904.
[2] Although Weinman is now best remembered as a
medalist , he considered himself to be an
architectural sculptor .
[3] His steadiest income was derived from the sale of small bronze reproductions of his larger works, such as Descending Night , originally commissioned for the
Panama–Pacific International Exposition , San Francisco, 1915.
[4]
Weinman was a member of the
National Sculpture Society and served as its president from 1927 to 1930. His work was also part of the
sculpture event in the
art competition at the
1928 Summer Olympics .
[5] He served on the
U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1929 to 1933.
[6] He was also a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Letters , the
National Institute of Arts and Letters , the
National Academy of Design , and the
New York City Art Commission , among other organizations.
[2]
Death
Weinman died in
Port Chester, New York , on August 8, 1952. Following a Mass at
Manhattan 's
St. Patrick's Cathedral , he was buried at
Calvary Cemetery in
Queens . Weinman's papers are at the Smithsonian
Archives of American Art .
His son
Robert Weinman was also a sculptor. His son Howard Weinman designed the
Long Island Tercentenary half dollar commemorative coin.
Works
Weinman's sculpture on the pediment of the
Jefferson Memorial , featuring the
Committee of Five
Despite his objections, Weinman is still best remembered as the designer of the
Walking Liberty Half Dollar , a design now used for the obverse of the
American Silver Eagle one-ounce bullion coin, and the
"Mercury" dime along with various medals for the
Armed Services of the United States . Among these are the identical reverses of the
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal , the
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal , and the
American Campaign Medal . Weinman was one of many sculptors and artists who employed
Audrey Munson as a model.
Weinman's work as an architectural sculptor can be found on the
Wisconsin ,
Missouri , and
Louisiana state capitols. He became the sculptor of choice for the architecture firm
McKim, Mead, and White and designed sculpture for their
Manhattan Municipal Building ,
Madison Square Presbyterian Church (completed 1906 and demolished 1919),
Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument , and
Pennsylvania Railroad Station (completed 1910 and demolished 1963), all in
New York City . A photograph of one of his angels, Day , in a landfill in New Jersey is one of the saddest reminders of the destruction of Penn Station in 1963, but two of his eagles were retained as trophies outside the entrance to the new subterranean
Penn Station .
[7] Elsewhere he created the dramatic frieze on the
Elks National Veterans Memorial in
Chicago and executed sculpture for the Post Office Department Building, the
Jefferson Memorial , and the interior of the
U.S. Supreme Court , all in
Washington, D.C.
Weinman's non-architectural works include the Macomb and the Maybury monuments in
Detroit .
[8] Another example of his non-architectural work is his
Abraham Lincoln Statue (Kentucky) located in the center of
Hodgenville, Kentucky .
[9]
Weinman collaborated with Polish American sculptor
Joseph Kiselewski to create a sculpture on the
Bronx County Court House in New York City in the early 1930s.
[10]
Weinman was one of 250 sculptors who exhibited in the
3rd Sculpture International held at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art in the summer of 1949.
Weinman's works are mostly executed in a lyrical
neoclassical style . His figures typically wear classical drapery, but there is a fluidity found in his work that is a harbinger of the
Art Deco style that was to follow him. His bronze statuette The Nude Golfer epitomizes this style. This work evokes classical sculpture in its attention to anatomy and movement and the nude status of the athlete while the subject, a modern
golfer , provides a modern twist.
[11]
Weinman also taught; among his pupils was
Eleanor Mary Mellon .
[12]
Selected works
Sculpture
General Alexander Macomb (1906–1908), Detroit, Michigan.
[8]
[13]
[14]
Union Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1909),
Wyman Park , Baltimore, Maryland.
Abraham Lincoln (1909), Hodgenville, Kentucky. A replica of this is at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison .
Alexander Johnston Cassatt , (1910),
Pennsylvania Station , New York City.
[2]
Abraham Lincoln (1911),
Kentucky State Capitol , Frankfort, Kentucky.
William Cotter Maybury Memorial (1912),
Grand Circus Park , Detroit, Michigan.
Rising Sun (1914–15),
Panama–Pacific International Exposition , San Francisco, California.
Descending Night (1914–15) (model,
Audrey Munson ),
Panama–Pacific International Exposition , San Francisco, California.
Samuel Rea (1926),
Pennsylvania Station , New York City.
[2]
Fountain of the Centaurs (ca. 1926),
Missouri State Capitol , Jefferson City, Missouri.
Pair of Lions (1929–30),
Baltimore Museum of Art , Baltimore, Maryland.
Dewitt Clinton (1941) and Alexander Hamilton (1941),
Museum of the City of New York , New York City.
Riders of the Dawn (ca. 1942),
Brookgreen Gardens , Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina.
Architectural sculpture
Architectural sculpture (1903–04),
Pennsylvania Station ,
McKim, Mead and White , architects, (demolished 1964). Salvaged pieces of statuary survive in multiple locations.
Architectural sculpture (1904–1906),
Madison Square Presbyterian Church , New York City,
McKim, Mead and White , architects, (demolished 1919).
Architectural sculpture (1908),
Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument ,
Fort Greene Park , Brooklyn, New York City,
McKim, Mead and White , architects.
Masonic Sphinxes: Power and Wisdom (1911–1915),
House of the Temple , Washington, D.C.,
John Russell Pope , architect.
Architectural sculpture (1913–1915),
Manhattan Municipal Building , New York City,
McKim, Mead and White , architects.
Bronze doors (1921–1923),
American Academy of Arts and Letters administration building, West 155th Street,
Audubon Terrace , Manhattan, New York City.
Architectural sculpture (1924–1926),
Elks National Veterans Memorial , Chicago, Illinois.
Architectural sculpture: South Pediment (ca. 1926),
Missouri State Capitol , Jefferson City, Missouri.
Architectural sculpture: Destiny Pediment (1935),
National Archives Building , Washington, D.C.
Drafting the Declaration of Independence (1939–1943), pedimental sculpture honoring the
Committee of Five on the
Jefferson Memorial , Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvania Station , New York City (1903–04, demolished 1964)
Eagle Scout Memorial Fountain (1968), Kansas City, Missouri. Salvaged pieces from
Pennsylvania Station ,
New York City
Eagle ,
National Zoo , Washington, D.C. Salvaged from
Pennsylvania Station ,
New York City
Detail, bronze doors,
American Academy of Arts and Letters West 155th Street entrance, (1921–1923)
New York City
Destiny Pediment (1935),
National Archives Building ,
Washington, D.C.
Drafting the Declaration of Independence Pediment (1939–1943),
Jefferson Memorial ,
Washington, D.C.
U.S. coins and medals
1904 World Fair, Louisiana Purchase Exposition award Medals The obverse of the medal depicts two female figures above the date MCMIV (1904). The tall taller figure is Columbia, with her arms spread wide holding the United States flag. The youthful maiden at her side represents the Louisiana Purchase Territory. Emblematic of her reception into the union, the maiden is divesting herself of the cloak of France, the material decorated with bees, the emblem of Napoleon. In the background is the rising sun, marking the dawn of a new era of progress to the nation. Encircling the two figures are the words “Universal Exposition – Saint Louis – United States of America.”
[15] The reverse shows an architectural tablet inscribed with “Gold Medal” and “Louisiana Purchase Exposition”. Below the tablet are two dolphins symbolizing the nations’ eastern and western boundaries, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Above the tablet is a large eagle with its wings spread. The inscription reads “Gold Medal (Silver and Bronze Medals were also given out) Louisiana Purchase Exposition 1904”. In addition to the medal a diploma of award was also given to the recipient. The medal weights approximately 3.5 ounces.
References
Notes
^ 1910 U.S. Census, New York City.
^
a
b
c
d
"About the Adolph A. Weinman Papers" .
Smithsonian Archives of American Art . Retrieved March 27, 2010 .
^ Reiter, Ed (January 31, 2000).
"The Weinman Legacy–Part 1" .
PCGS Library. Archived from
the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2010 .
^
"Descending Night" . www.metmuseum.org . Retrieved December 30, 2022 .
^
"Adolph Alexander Weinman" . Olympedia . Retrieved July 29, 2020 .
^ Luebke, Thomas E. (ed.) Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 557.
^ One is illustrated in Walsh, Kevin. Forgotten New York: The Ultimate Urban Explorer's Guide to All Five Boroughs , 2006:169: "Others can be found in
Kings Point and
Hicksville and as far away as Philadelphia".
^
a
b Zacharias, Pat (September 5, 1999).
"The Monuments of Detroit" .
The Detroit News . Archived from
the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2010 .
^ Federal Writers' Project (1996).
The WPA Guide to Kentucky . University Press of Kentucky. p. 120.
ISBN
0813108659 . Retrieved November 24, 2013 .
^
"Sculpture" . Joseph Kiselewski . Retrieved May 4, 2023 .
^
"Adolph Alexander Weinman" . Fine Art, May 2007 . Rago Arts and Auction Center. Archived from
the original on July 15, 2011.
^ Jules Heller; Nancy G. Heller (December 19, 2013).
North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary . Routledge.
ISBN
978-1-135-63882-5 .
^
"Statue of General Alexander Macomb" . January 4, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2010 .
^ Lloyd, Marshall Davies (August 20, 2006).
"Navarre Arms: The Navarres of Meaux and New France" . Retrieved August 3, 2016 .
^
"1904 St. Louis World's Fair Medals: Louisiana Purchase Exposition Collectibles" . January 12, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024 .
^ Lange, David W. A Complete Guide Book to Mercury Dimes (Virginia Beach, Va.: DLRC Press, 1993).
ISBN
978-1-880731-17-8 .
Bibliography
Kvaran and Lockley, A Guide to the Architectural Sculpture of America , unpublished manuscript
External links
Sculptures Coins and medals Related
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