Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Augustus Saint-Gaudens. . , Augustus Saint-Gaudens was a sculptor born on March 1, 1848 in Dublin. Ireland was in the grip of the Great Potato Famine, and his family immigrated to New York, taking 6-month-old Augustus with them., Saint-Gaudens’ father, Bernard, was a prosperous shoemaker; yet as third of five sons, August was apprenticed to a cameo cutter at the age of 13. At that early age, Saint-Gaudens also attended night classes at Cooper Union. In 1864, he left his employer and enrolled at the National Academy of Design., The elder Saint-Gaudens recognizing the exceptional talent of his son – sent Augustus to Paris in 1867 to continue his art studies. August attended the Petite Ecole, and later the world-famous Ecole des Beaux-Arts. While in Paris, Saint Gaudens supported himself by cutting cameos., In 1869, Saint-Gaudens moved to Rome, furthering the study of his art while struggling with poverty., While in Rome, the style of his sculpture, rooted in classical themes, began to evolve into art that was original and had a distinctly American flair., Saint-Gaudens returned to New York in 1873. His fortunes changed in 1876 when he won a competition to sculpt a stature of David Glasgow Farragut. The statue, with a base by the architect Stanford White, stands at the north end of Madison Square Park., Thereafter, major commissions for sculptures and bas-relief artwork pursued Saint-Gaudens. Over time, he became known as “America’s Michelangelo” – his public monuments and memorials regarded as among the best in the nation., In Manhattan, other well-known major works which may be seen are the statues of General Sherman as Central Park South and 5th Avenue and of Peter Cooper at Cooper Square. The Diana that once stood atop the Madison Square Tower is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art., Through an association with President Theodore Roosevelt, a fellow New Yorker, Saint Gaudens became involved in the redesign of the coinage of the United States, and created the beautiful $10 and $20 gold pieces., Famous works by Saint-Gaudens also grace Boston and Washington, D.C., along with scores of other sculptures nationwide and in Europe., Saint-Gaudens died in Cornish, New Hampshire, in 1907. His home is now a National Monument open to the public.