Arthur Lee (May 4, 1881 – 1961) was a Norwegian-born American sculptor, and educator.

Life and career

Arthur Lee was born in

Trondheim, Norway Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populou ...

. His family immigrated to the United States in 1888, settling in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

. He studied at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

in New York City, before returning to Europe to study the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, as well as in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and London. He was one of the more conservative artists who exhibited at the

Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was organized by thAssociation of American Painters and Sculptors It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of the many exhibition ...

in 1913 where he displayed eight drawings and sculptures and was one of a dozen sculptors invited to compete in the

Pioneer Woman The ''Pioneer Woman'' monument is a bronze sculpture in Ponca City, Oklahoma, designed by Bryant Baker and dedicated on April 22, 1930. The statue is of a wikt:sunbonnet, sunbonneted woman leading a child by the hand. It was donated to the Stat ...

statue competition in 1927.‘’Exhibition of Models for a Monument to the Pioneer Woman’’ at the Chicago Architectural Exhibition, East Galleries, Art Institute of Chicago, June 25 to August 1, 1927 He also taught at the Art Students League of New York; among his pupils was

Eleanor Platt Eleanor Platt (1910–1974) was an American sculptor. She was known for her bronze or plaster busts often of members of the government, especially the judiciary. In 1945 she was named a Guggenheim Fellow. Biography Eleanor Platt was one of the ...

. Lee was a member of the

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding member ...

and the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

. He died in May 1961.

References

1881 births 1961 deaths 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors Artists from Trondheim Artists from Saint Paul, Minnesota Norwegian emigrants to the United States Art Students League of New York alumni American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts National Academy of Design members Sculptors from New York (state) Sculptors from Minnesota Section of Painting and Sculpture artists {{US-sculptor-stub