Alice Decker (September 1, 1901 – 1979) was an American sculptor born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

Early years

Decker studied in France with Bourdelle, and

Despiau Charles Despiau (November 4, 1874 – October 30, 1946) was a French people, French sculptor and teacher. He also worked as a draftsman, graphic artist and book illustrator. Early life Charles-Albert Despiau was born at Mont-de-Marsan, Landes (d ...

and in New York with direct carver Robert Laurent.

Later career

During the course of 1934 she married

Duncan Ferguson Duncan Cowan Ferguson (born 27 December 1971) is a Scottish football coach and former player. He began his career at Dundee United in 1990, and moved to Rangers in 1993 for what was then a British transfer record fee. He spent the remainder o ...

. Shortly thereafter she began a three-year affair with critic

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a ...

, beginning in 1934, but after a mutual parting they both agreed to destroy their correspondence from during this period, fearing that their respective spouses might learn of their relationship. She later joined a “League Against War, Fascism and Lewis Mumford” with his wife Sophia and another former lover of his,

Catherine Bauer Catherine Krouse Bauer Wurster (May 11, 1905 – November 21, 1964) was an American public housing advocate and educator of city planners and urban planners. A leading member of the "housers," a group of planners who advocated affordable hou ...

. In 1936, after leaving her husband she moved into a house in Greenwich Village with a long, storied history. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt initiated the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

. One of its programs was the Federal Art Projects under which the federal government hired artists, mostly painters and sculptors to create art for a variety of public places, often post offices. De Coux carved two reliefs, ""The Oldest Church in the Valley” and ''Ploughing'' for the post office in

Palmyra, Pennsylvania Palmyra (Pennsylvania German: ''Pallemschteddel'') is a borough in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Lebanon, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,807 at the 2020 census. Geography Palmyr ...

. Decker was a founding member of the

Sculptors Guild Sculptors Guild, a society of sculptors who banded together to promote public interest in contemporary sculpture, was founded in 1937. Signatories to the original corporation papers (Sculptors Guild, Inc.) were Sonia Gordon Brown, Berta Margouli ...

and exhibited at its 1939 1940 and 1941 exhibitions. Decker was one of the sculptors who exhibited at the

3rd Sculpture International 3rd Sculpture International was a 1949 exhibition of contemporary sculpture held inside and outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It featured works by 250 sculptors from around the world, and ran from May 15 ...

in Philadelphia in 1949.

Personal life

Decker was married twice, from 1934 to 1936 to

and to financier Davidson Summers from 1938 until her death in 1979 with whom she had at least one child, Elizabeth Spaulding of

Economy, Nova Scotia Economy (2006 pop.: 1,111)''Nova Scotia Community Counts:'Statistical profile is an unincorporated rural community situated along the north shore of the Minas Basin/Cobequid Bay, at approximately 45°23'N, 63°54'W, in Colchester County, Nova ...

Work

Decker's work can be found: * Polar Bear,

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, Snite Museum of Art,

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

* Whom Shall I Fear?,

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

* Post Office Panels, US Post Office,

* Penguin and Polar Bear,

Wichita Art Museum The Wichita Art Museum is an art museum located in Wichita, Kansas, United States. The museum was established in 1915, when Louise Caldwell Murdock’s Will which created a trust to start the Roland P. Murdock Collection of art in memory of he ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

* Sea Breeze, exhibited Sculptors’ Guild Travelling Exhibition 1940-1941 * Reaping, 1941 Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition * Flight, 1939 SculptorsGuild Outdoor Exhibition *

lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a ...

’s private collectionSculptors’ Guild Travelling Exhibition: 1940-1941, The Sculptors’Guild, New York, 1940

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decker, Alice 1901 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American sculptors Federal Art Project artists Sculptors Guild members American expatriates in France 20th-century American women sculptors