Monuments and Myths: The America of Sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French
On view through January 5, 2025
James A. Michener Art Museum
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
www.michenerartmuseum.org
Daniel Chester French and Augustus Saint-Gaudens were friends and sometimes rivals who transformed sculpture in the United States. They produced dozens of the nation’s most recognizable public artworks, including French’s “Seated Abraham Lincoln” in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and Saint-Gaudens’s “Diana,” which graced the top of Madison Square Garden in New York.
This is an opportune time to examine the role of historic monuments, and the impact of their legacies. Filled with multiple meanings and contested histories, the artworks in this exhibition encourage visitors to question the stories told by public art tells and explore what histories remain hidden.
“Monuments and Myths” features approximately 70 sculptures, models, maquettes, and more drawn from the collections of the two artists’ historic homes, the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park and French’s Chesterwood.
[Image: Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), Diana, Second Version (Half Size), 1886-93, cast 1972. Bronze, 78 x 51 3/8 x 26 inches. Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Cornish, NH. Gift of the Trustees of the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, 1973, SAGA 1649. Courtesy American Federation of Arts. Photo by Steve Briggs.]
