Daniel Gillette Olney (August 24, 1909 - July 2, 1980), was an American

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

active in Washington, D.C. in the 1930s. A native of New York, he is primarily known for his

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

panels at the

Langston Terrace Dwellings Langston Terrace Dwellings are historic structures located in the Langston portion of the Carver/Langston neighborhoods in the Northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. The apartments were built between 1935 and 1938 and they were listed on the Nati ...

, one of only fourteen works on the

list of artworks commemorating African Americans in Washington, D.C. Artworks commemorating African-Americans in Washington, D.C. is a group of fourteen public artworks in Washington, D.C., including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial dedicated in 2011, that commemorate African Americans. When describing thirtee ...

Early life and education

Daniel Gillette Olney was born in New York City on August 24, 1909. He was the son of George H. Olney and Amy (nee Gillette) Olney. Olney graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and attended the

Beaux-Arts Institute of Design The Beaux-Arts Institute of Design (BAID, later the National Institute for Architectural Education) was an art and architectural school at 304 East 44th Street in Turtle Bay, Manhattan, in New York City.United States Coast Guard Reserve The United States Coast Guard Reserve is the reserve component of the United States Coast Guard. It is organized, trained, administered, and supplied under the direction of the Commandant of the Coast Guard through the Assistant Commandant for ...

Notable works

In addition to his works at the

, Olney sculpted “Lady and Unicorn,” in Dumbarton Oaks neighbourhood of Washington, and a relief sculpture for the Berryville Post Office in Berryville, Arkansas.

“The Progress of the Negro Race” and “Madonna and Children”

, designed by African American architect Hilyard Robinson, was the first public housing project in Washington D.C., and the second in the United States. Olney was commissioned to create a frieze depicting African American history from enslavement to the Great Migration following World War I. Another Olney sculpture, “Madonna and Children,” is also located at Langston Terrace Dwellings. Kelly Ann Quinn describes the importance of the Olney’s work: “In five major figurative terra-cotta panels, Olney rendered a version of history that traced African Americans from slavery to freedom, through Reconstruction and the Great Migration. The frieze features themes of labor, family, leadership, and urbanization; the narrative arc of this ensemble suggests that progress is predicated on each of these elements.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olney, Daniel Gillette 1909 births 1980 deaths American architectural sculptors American sculptors Yale University alumni Sculptors from New York City 20th-century American sculptors