Augustus Saint-Gaudens | |
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Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1905
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Born |
Dublin, Ireland |
March 1, 1848
Died | August 3, 1907 Cornish, New Hampshire |
(aged 59)
Nationality | American |
Education | Cooper Union, National Academy of Design, École des Beaux-Arts. |
Known for | Sculpture |
Movement | The "Be Silent Be Still" |
Spouse(s) | Augusta |
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (/əˈɡʌstəs ˌseɪntˈɡɔːdənz/; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance". Raised in New York City, he traveled to Europe for further training and artistic study, and then returned to New York, where he achieved major critical success for his monuments commemorating heroes of the American Civil War, many of which still stand. In addition to his works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common, and the outstanding grand equestrian monuments to Civil War Generals, John A. Logan in Chicago's Grant Park, and William Tecumseh Sherman, at the corner of New York's Central Park, Saint-Gaudens also created such works the Diana and employed his skills in numismatics. He designed the $20 "double eagle" gold piece, for the US Mint in 1905–1907, considered one of the most beautiful American coins ever issued as well as the $10 "Indian Head" gold eagle, both of which were minted from 1907 until 1933. In his later years he founded the "Cornish Colony", an artistic colony that included notable painters, sculptors, writers, and architects. His brother Louis Saint-Gaudens was also a well-known sculptor with whom he occasionally collaborated.