Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907)

Augustus Saint-Gaudens "Diana of the Tower" 2nd version - 1892

    The man who was to be known as the most respected and best known American sculptor of the Golden Era was born in 1848 in Dublin, Ireland to a French father and an Irish mother.  His parents emigrated when he was an infant and settled in New York City where they developed a prosperous trade.  Their son became apprenticed to a cameo cutter at the age of thirteen and excelled in the meticulous work.  He studied at the Cooper Union Academy and later transferred to the National Academy of Art.  Fluent in French, the young sculptor traveled abroad to study at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1867 to 1870.

    His talent was soon evident overseas where he entered art showings for several years.  Upon returning to this country he soon found favor with some of the leading architects of the day such as Stanford White, and he began his United States career with impressive monuments. His first major commission was the Admiral Farragut statue in New York’s Central Park in 1881, followed by the first nude female sculpture to be displayed in an open public place:  the iconic Diana of the Tower installed atop New York’s Madison Square Garden, followed by the equestrian statue of General Sherman being led by a marching Victory, which is also in New York.  Boston’s iconic Shaw Memorial took the sculptor twelve years to complete.

    Augustus Saint-Gaudens moved to Cornish in 1885 where he bought a home and opened a studio which is now being owned and maintained by the National Park Service.  He is credited as the founder of the Cornish Colony.  He solicited many of his friends to purchase land and build homes in the bucolic countryside of Cornish and Plainfield in NH and across the Connecticut River in adjacent Windsor, VT.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Hearthplate for "Mastlands" Cornish, NH - 1904

    Private gifts and commissions, such as the Mastlands plaque for Rose Nichols, his favorite niece, and the massive Robert Louis Stevenson bas relief which he gave his friend Maxfield Parrish for his home, “The Oaks”, tell the story of his generosity.  The sculptor’s portrait medallions, coins and busts also established his place in this country’s heritage and these continue to be sold and traded at prestigious galleries and auction houses.  

    Some of the sculptor’s young assistants such as Frederick MacMonnies, Frances Grimes, Annetta St. Gaudens, James Earle Fraser, Henry Hering and Elsie Ward Hering had their early starts with him.  At the artist’s death in 1907, his chief assistant, Frances Grimes is credited with finishing many of the pieces the artist left in an uncompleted state..

    A recent worldwide tour of his works brought thousands of visitors to view the magnificent pieces in museum's here and overseas.  Most of the country’s top museums own or exhibit several examples of the artist’s work, including our own Parrish House Museum.