Henry Augustus Lukeman (January 28, 1872 – April 3, 1935) was an American sculptor, specializing in historical monuments. Noted among his works are the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

monument in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, the

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent and United States Army, U.S. Army officer. He became an American frontier legend in his own lifetime ...

Monument in

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the List of cities and towns in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of cities and towns in Colorado, most populous municipality in Las Animas County, Colorado, United Stat ...

and the

Stone Mountain Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome Inselberg, monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Ge ...

Confederate Memorial in Georgia.

Biography

Early life and education

Henry Augustus Lukeman was born on January 28, 1872, in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, Colby, Frank Moore &

Talcott Williams Talcott Williams (July 20, 1849 – January 24, 1928) was an American journalist, author and educator. Williams worked as a journalist and editor for nearly four decades, including thirty years with '' The Philadelphia Press.'' Williams authored ...

, eds. (1915). "Lukeman, Henry Augustus (1870–)". ''New International Encyclopedia'' (2nd ed.), Vol. 14, p. 461, New York: Dodd, Mead, available a

accessed 12 September 2015. and was raised in New York City.David Bernard Dearinger, ed. (2004) ''Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design: 1826-1925 (Volume 1),'' pp. 123f, New York, NY: Hudson Hills, , se

an

accessed 12 September 2015. He is "said to have begun lessons at the National Academy and the Cooper Union School at age eleven," though a National Academy of Design source notes that the school's "registration records do not bear… out" this historical supposition. It is also reported that he began sculpting at age 10 at a boys' club miniature workshop, working in clay and wood from ages 10 to 13. At a young age he became a studio assistant of

Launt Thompson Launt Thompson (February 8, 1833 – September 26, 1894) was an American sculptor. Biography He was born in Abbeyleix, Ireland. Due to the Great Famine occurring in Ireland at the time, he emigrated to the United States in 1847 with his widowe ...

, an Irish-American sculptor and National Academician, and, like Launt, pursued medically related studies (anatomy)—Lukeman at New York's

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

(for two year prior to 1890). He remained with Launt until age 16. There is report, potentially conflicting with other sources regarding his early training, that has him involved in an apprenticeship at the foundry of Jno. Williams, Inc. until he was 19. Likewise regarding a further report: that Lukeman studied ''

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

'' and architectural modeling for building and exterior decorations for several years, while in the evening studying life drawing (at the

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

in New York). Lukeman is known to have attended classes at the National Academy for Design beginning in 1890, where records exist for his registration for the antique school (for two years), and to have followed this with study at Columbia University. Following that he went to Europe for 6 months and worked under Jean-Alexandre-Joseph Falguiere, at the Beaux Arts, in

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 ...

. When Lukeman returned to New York, he became an assistant to

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculpture, sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works include ''The Minute Man'', an 1874 statue in Concord, Massachusetts, and his Statue of Abr ...

, a commitment that would last for a decade and a half, during which time he would also begin to execute his own commissions, eventually opening his own studio in New York. When construction of the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

began in 1893, Lukeman would superintend enlarging some important works for

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, for instance, the

Statue of the Republic The Statue of ''The Republic'' is a Gilding, gilded bronze sculpture in Jackson Park (Chicago), Jackson Park, Chicago, Illinois by Daniel Chester French. It is based on a colossal original statue, which was a centerpiece of the World's Colum ...

American works

Lukeman's independent work began in this new studio, and included the monuments in which he would come to specialize, as well as "portrait busts and statues, bas-reliefs, ornamental sculpture," which have been described as being "architecturally effective and often remarkable in conception." Notable works in New York state from his early independent work include figures for the Customs Building in Columbus, on the Appellate Court House in Manhattan, and on the facade of the

Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Fla ...

.Anon. (1910), "The Museum Statues," in ''The Museum News,'' Vol. 6, no. 3 (December), pp. 34-36, Brooklyn, NY: Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, se

accessed 12 September 2015. A further more complete list of his American and Canadian commissions and other important public sculpture works is given below. A seminal work of Lukeman—proceeding from his earlier work on "several grandiose memorials"—was to complete the execution of the enormously scaled Stone Mountain#Confederate Memorial Carving, Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial. This mountain carving depicted the confederacy's president, Jefferson Davis, and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (and their respective horses Blackjack, Traveller, and Little Sorrel), in

DeKalb County, Georgia DeKalb County (, , ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its ...

, near

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

; there, Lukeman designed and supervised sculpting of the monument after removing the earlier work of

Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (March 25, 1867 – March 6, 1941) was an American sculpture, sculptor best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. He is also associated with various other public works of art across the U.S., including Stone Moun ...

(the original commissionee, who had resigned). David Dearinger notes that "Lukeman was criticized for taking over another artist's work," and that "he used Borglum's existing scheme," though altering it to be a bas-relief whose figures would ultimately be over 150 feet tall. When funding ran out in the advent of 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 ...

, Lukeman would continue to pay the craftsmen until his own means were exhausted, after which the carving would remain incomplete for decades (until

Walker Hancock Walker Kirtland Hancock (June 28, 1901 – December 30, 1998) was an American sculptor and teacher. He created notable monumental sculptures, including the World War I Soldiers' Memorial (1936–1938) in St. Louis, Missouri; and the Pennsylvani ...

and Roy Faulkner completed an edited version of the Lukeman design in 1970). Located above ground, and lacking the originally intended legs on the horses, the Lukeman-Hancock-Faulkner sculpture ultimately measured , and is recessed . Lukeman died in New York on April 3, 1935, aged 65, leaving his wife, formerly, Helen Bidwell Blodgett.

Honors and awards

Lukeman's work was recognized by the

Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded under the ...

, and he was given an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

Influences, and those influenced

Two significant influences were those whose training he extensively received,

and

. In addition, Lukeman was known to have kept a small nude study executed by

Kenyon Cox Kenyon Cox (October 27, 1856 – March 17, 1919) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, writer, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York. He was the designer of the League ...

, one which "Cox considered among his best," and is therefore considered as one of Lukeman's possible artistic influences.

Public sculptures

Dated entries

The following entries, whose dates of execution are known, are ordered according to date, earliest to latest: * Manu, the Law Giver of India, 1899, on the

Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State The Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State, First Department, is a courthouse at the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and 25th Street in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The courthouse ...

, New York City. * Music (Festival Hall) and another decorative sculpture (Electrical Building), at the

Saint Louis Exposition The Saint Louis Exposition or St. Louis Expo was a series of annual agricultural and technical fairs held in St. Louis' Fairgrounds Park, from the 1850s to 1902. In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, a major World's Fair, was held in St. ...

, 1904, Saint Louis, Missouri; awarded a medal. * The Hebrew Law Giver, Psalmist, Apostle, and Prophet (4 figures, facade), 1907–1909, the

, New York. * The Straus Memorial in

Straus Park __NOTOC__ Straus Park is a small landscaped park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at the intersection of Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, West End Avenue, and 106th Street (Manhattan), 106th Street. The most notable feature is a bronze 1913 ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 1915; dedicated to Ida and

Isidor Straus Isidor Straus (February 6, 1845 – April 15, 1912) was a Bavarian-born American businessman, politician, and co-owner of Macy's department store with his brother Nathan. He also served for just over a year as a member of the United States House ...

, who lost their lives on the

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that Sinking of the Titanic, sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking Iceberg that struck the Titanic, an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York Ci ...

. *

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

gold medal (with

), 1918. * The Prospect Park Memorial, 1921, a

monument, in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. * '' Major General David McMurtrie Gregg'', 1922,

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...

. * The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, 1923,

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

; refurbished, with presentation, Memorial Day 2010. * Stone Mountain#Confederate Memorial Carving, Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial,

, near

, 1925–1928; preceded in this project by

, and followed by

Fuller E. Callaway, 1929, textile magnate portrait bust, Hills & Dales Estate, LaGrange, Georgia

Undated entries

The following entries, whose dates of execution are unknown, are ordered alphabetically by the subjects surname or place name: * Francis Asbury Equestrian Sculpture, Washington, D.C. * Francis Asbury Statue, Madison, New Jersey. * Daniel Boone bas-relief portrait, Paris, Kentucky. *

Monument in

; figure of Carson; sculptor

Frederick Roth Frederick George Richard Roth (1872 – 1944) often referred to as F.G.R. Roth, was an American sculptor and animalier, well known for portraying living animals. The statue of the sled dog Balto in New York City's Central Park is perhaps his mos ...

executed the horse. * Lieutenant Cushing, on the Dewey Arch, New York, New York. * Customs Building, Columbus, New York. * Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, San Diego, California. * Joseph Henry, professor, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey. * Robert Livingston, Saint Louis, Michigan. * President William McKinley Statue, Adams, Massachusetts. * President William McKinley Statue, Toledo, Ohio. *

Memorial to the Women of the Confederacy The Memorial to the Women of the Confederacy, also known as the U.D.C. Memorial Building, is a historic building located in Richmond, Virginia, that serves as the national headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was listed o ...

, Raleigh, North Carolina. *

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 ...

Seal. *

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a world's fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park–Front Park System, Delaware Park, extending ...

sculpture, in Buffalo, New York. * James K. Patterson, early president of the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. * President Franklin Pierce, New Hampshire State Capitol, Concord, New Hampshire. * Royal Bank of Canada headquarters, four colossal statues, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. * General William Shepard, Westfield, Massachusetts. * Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Public Square, Watertown, New York. * Soldiers' Monument, Somerville, Massachusetts. *

Elisha Yale Reverend Elisha Yale (1780 – 1853) was an American clergyman and pastor, first Minister (Christianity), minister of the Congregational church of Gloversville, New York. He founded the Kingsborough Academy, now the Fulton County Historical Soci ...

, at Gloversville, New York.Eagle Archives, June 11, 1932: Berkshire's present and past linked by statue
Jeannie Maschino, June 11, 2021

References

, as reflected by the inline references to Colby & Williams, (1915), ''New International Encyclopedia'' (2nd ed.), ''op. cit.''