Daniel Chester French in his studio
The Norman Rockwell Museum has opened an exhibition about Daniel Chester French and the Lincoln Memorial.
John C. Johansen (Danish-American, 1876-1964) Daniel Chester French in the Chesterwood Studio, 1926
The Museum partnered with nearby Chesterwood, the home and studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French, to assemble a trove of sculptural maquettes and artwork that detail how the memorial was conceived and executed.
John Russell Pope (1874-1937) Design proposal for a Monument to Abraham Lincoln
(Mayan temple style), 1912.
One of the initial ideas for the building to house the memorial shows a stepped pyramid at the end of the Mall.
Among the artists attending were Shawn Fields, who illustrated a children's book called Monument Maker Daniel Chester French and the Lincoln Memorial, and Garin Baker, who created a massive mural about the making of the Monument called "28 Blocks."
The other rooms of the museum are filled with extraordinary paintings by Norman Rockwell.
How cool! I grew up not fear from there and went at least once a year to visit the Lincoln memorial, it is a profound place.
ReplyDeleteA bit of trivia. Daniel Chester French's father was Henry Flagg French - an interesting character. Polymath and the inventor of the French Drain.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_F._French
Shawn Fields actually introduced me to Gurney Journey, so I am really excited to see him featured here. I need to pick up a copy of that book!
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