George Maitland Stanley (April 26, 1903 – May 11, 1970) was an American sculptor. He designed the

Academy Award of Merit The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, also known as the Oscar, as well as sculpting the Muse Statue at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

Early life

Stanley was born in

Iota Iota (; uppercase: Ι, lowercase: ι; ) is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Letters that arose from this letter include the Latin I and J, the Cyrillic І (І, і), Yi (Ї, ї), and ...

Acadia Parish, Louisiana Acadia Parish (french: link=no, Paroisse de l'Acadie) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 57,576. The parish seat is Crowley, L ...

in the year 1903. He then moved as a child to California and spent his youth there in the city of

Watsonville Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self- ...

. Upon graduation from high school Stanley proceeded to study sculpture at

Otis Art Institute Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aerospace headquarte ...

in Los Angeles from 1923 to 1926. He also taught at this school from 1926 to 1942. Stanley also taught briefly at the

Santa Barbara School of the Arts Santa Barbara School of the Arts was a college of art founded in Santa Barbara, California, by artist Fernand Lungren (1857–1932) in 1920.

. During his life he completed many public arts works including work for schools such as the Long Beach Polytechnic High School, as well as works for private patrons.

Sculpting career

The Oscar statuette was fabricated based upon a sketch by MGM art director

Cedric Gibbons Austin Cedric Gibbons (March 23, 1890 – July 26, 1960) was an Irish-American art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons designed the ...

in 1927. It was first awarded in 1929. Since then, more than 2,300 statuettes have been presented to some of the world's best film and television actors, writers, directors, producers, and technicians. Stanley sculpted a statue of

Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a " natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the g ...

located at the Griffith Observatory, completed in 1934. This statue was part of a larger work known as the '' Astronomer's Monument''. This work was a public project funded by the

PWAP The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a New Deal program designed to employ artists that operated from 1933 to 1934. The program was headed by Edward Bruce, under the United States Treasury Department with funding from the Civil Works Adm ...

. Consequently, the work was signed "PWAP", with none of the six artists contributing to it receiving individual recognition. The design for the monument was submitted by

Archibald Garner Lorraine Archibald “Archie” Garner (February 24, 1904 – May 7, 1969) was an American sculptor. During the New Deal he was commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project and Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture to create several not ...

, and executed by him and five of the other sculptors who had submitted proposals. Entrance to Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, Calif (70194)

Stanley sculpted the ''Muse of Music, Dance, Drama'' located at the

which serves as the gateway to Hollywood. Completed in 1940, this fountain sculpture in the Streamline Moderne style is carved from granite and stands twenty-two feet tall and two-hundred feet wide. It serves as a retaining wall for the amphitheater. In June 2006, the sculpture was refurbished and rededicated. It received new plumbing, landscaping and grout. The stylized relief above the Art Deco landmark

Bullocks Wilshire Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, is a Art Deco building. The building opened in September 1929 as a luxury department store for owner John G. Bullock (owner of the more mainstream Bullock's in D ...

entrance at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard was designed by George Stanley. Bullocks Wilshire Bldg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, George 1903 births 1973 deaths Sculptors from California Sculptors from Louisiana People from Iota, Louisiana 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors