Louis Saint-Gaudens (January 1, 1854 – March 8, 1913) 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 sc ...

of the Beaux-Arts generation. He was the brother of renowned sculptor

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

; Louis later changed the spelling of his name to St. Gaudens to differentiate himself from his well-known brother.

Early life and education

Saint-Gaudens was born in

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 ...

to a French-born father, Bernard Paul Ernest Saint-Gaudens, and an Irish-born mother, Mary McGuiness, Louis received his early training as a cameo cutter from his brother, who later assisted him in beginning his art studies 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, ...

. In 1878, he and his brother Augustus moved to

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 ...

where they shared a studio and attended 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 ...

from 1879 to 1880.

Career

In 1898, he returned to the United States, where he settled in Flint, Ohio, and met his future wife, sculptor Annetta Johnson. Their son, Paul Saint-Gaudens, was a master potter who became known for his Orchard Kiln Pottery Works. In 1900, the family relocated to

Cornish, New Hampshire Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2020 census. Cornish has four covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair. History The town was granted in 1763 and containe ...

, a mile away from Louis's brother's studio. For the rest of his life, Louis Saint-Gaudens not only worked as his brother's assistant but also pursued commissions of his own. He sculpted major pieces for the

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...

, the Church of the Ascension and the Brearley School in

Washington Union Station Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's second-busiest station and North ...

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, the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in

, St. Louis Art Museum, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

and New York Life Insurance Company Building in New York City. He was a recipient of the Joseph Francis U.S. Congressional Medal and the Benjamin Franklin Centennial Medal in 1906. Over 50 sculptures by Saint-Gaudens, considered his masterworks, were completed for

He was a member of the National Sculpture Society.

Legacy

Louis Saint-Gaudens died of pneumonia, aged 59, in

. His home and studio in Cornish, New Hampshire, a former Shaker Meetinghouse, were on the National Register of Historic Places until they were destroyed by fire in 1980.

Significant works

* 1890 Eagle and nest of eaglets - New York Life Insurance Building in

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* 1891 Young St. John the Baptist - Font of Church of the Ascension * 1894 Lions -

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

* 1896 Statue of Homer - Main Reading Room,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

* 1902 Eagles and seal of the State of New York - Roswell P. Flower Monument, in Watertown, New York (with

) * 1905 Holland Statue, Exterior of Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in

* 1905 Portugal Statue, Exterior of Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in

* 1908 Joseph Francis Medal, United States Mint * 1912 '' The Progress of Railroading'',

* 1914 Forty-six Roman Legionnaire Statues - Interior of Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C.

References

Notes

Sources

* "Art In American Churches", ''New York Times'', January 20, 1895 * "Art Notes", ''New York Times'', December 21, 1884 * "Louis St. Gaudens Dead", ''New York Times'', March 13, 1913 * "Uncle Sam's Medal Factory", ''Washington Post'', June 13, 1909 * Armstrong, Craven, et al., ''200 Years of American Sculpture'', Whitney Museum of Art, NYC, 1976 * Craven, Wayne, ''Sculpture in America'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co, NY, NY 1968 * Goode, James M., ''The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, DC, Smithsonian Press, Washington, DC, 1974 * Johnson, Louis, ''Early History of the Home & Studios of Louis and Annette St. Gaudens'' Published by John H. Dryfhout, Cornish, NH * Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, ''The Reminiscences of Augustus Saint-Gaudens'', Edited and Amplified by Homer Saint-Gaudens, Published By The Century Co. New York, MCMXIII * Taft, Lorado, ''The History of American Sculpture'', MacMillan Co., New York, NY 1925 * Wilkinson, Burke, and David Finn, photographs, ''Uncommon Clay: The Life and Works of Augustus Saint-Gaudens'', Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, San Diego 1985 *'' The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris'' by

David McCullough David Gaub McCullough (; July 7, 1933 – August 7, 2022) was an American popular historian. He was a two-time winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In 2006, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United S ...

, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, May 2011

External links

Louis Saint-Gaudens Home, New Hampshire
*
''Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Master Sculptor''
exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Louis Saint-Gaudens
"''Columbus taking possession of the New World"''
sculpture by Louis Saint-Gaudens and Mary Lawrence Tonetti at the east portal of the Administration Building - World's Columbian Exposition 1893 in Chicago, Ill.
Benjamin Franklin Bicentennial Medal
in Museum of Fine Arts in Boston {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Gaudens, Louis 1854 births 1913 deaths Artists from New York City American people of French descent American people of Irish descent American architectural sculptors Deaths from pneumonia in New Hampshire American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Artists from New Hampshire 19th-century American sculptors 19th-century American male artists American male sculptors 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists Sculptors from New York (state) Artists of the Boston Public Library