George Grey Barnard

George Grey Barnard
Portrait of George Grey Barnard in 1908
Born	(1863-05-24)May 24, 1863 Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	April 24, 1938(1938-04-24) (aged 74) New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Known for	Sculpture
Notable work	Struggle of the Two Natures in Man Abraham Lincoln (Cincinnati)

George Grey Barnard (May 24, 1863 – April 24, 1938), often written George Gray Barnard, was an American sculptor who trained in Paris. He is especially noted for his heroic sized Struggle of the Two Natures in Man at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, his twin sculpture groups at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, and his Lincoln statue in Cincinnati, Ohio. His major works are largely symbolical in character. His personal collection of Medieval architectural fragments forms a core part of The Cloisters in New York City.

Barnard was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Kankakee, Illinois, the son of Reverend Joseph Barnard and Martha Grubb, and the grandson and namesake of merchant George Grey Grubb. He first studied at the Art Institute of Chicago under Leonard Volk. He attended the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, 1883–1887, while working in the atelier of Pierre-Jules Cavelier. He lived in Paris for twelve years, and scored a great success with his first exhibit at the Salon of 1894. He returned to America in 1896, and married Edna Monroe of Boston. He taught at the Art Students League of New York from 1900 to 1903, succeeding Augustus Saint-Gaudens. He returned to France, and spent the next eight years working on his sculpture groups for the Pennsylvania State Capitol. He was elected an associate member of the National Academy of Design in 189x, and an academician in 1902.

A strong Rodin influence is evident in his early work. His principal works include the allegorical "Struggle of the Two Natures in Man" (1894, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York); "The Hewer" (1902, at Cairo, Illinois); "Great God Pan" (1899, at Columbia University); the "Rose Maiden" (c.1902, at Muscatine, Iowa); the simple and graceful "Maidenhood" (1896, at Brookgreen Gardens).