Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Maya Lin

We just learned about the Marine Corps War Memorial - Felix de Weldon.

Another famous American monument is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial made by Maya Lin in Washington D.C. in 1981.

In 1981 there was a contest to see who could come up with the best sculpture for a new memorial for the people who died in the Vietnam War.

Maya Lin won the contest, and her idea was to have a big black wall made of granite, with the names of all of the people who died engraved on it.

The memorial is v-shaped when you look at it from above, and her idea was that it would look kind of like a wound that needed to heal for America.


(from: wikipedia - vietnam veterans memorial)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Akan Goldweights

Marine Corps War Memorial - Felix de Weldon

We just learned about the George Washington as President - Alexander Stirling Calder.

Another famous American statue is the Marine Corps War Memorial, also called the Iwo Jima Memorial, in Virginia, made in 1954 by Felix de Weldon.

In 1945 during World War II, the US was in a battle with Japan on the island of Iwo Jima.
It was a very important battle for the war, and when the US finally took over the island they raised up a big flag that was 8 feet long by 4 feet tall so that all of the soldiers could see it on the island.

Someone took a picture of them while they were putting it up, and it became a very famous picture that was used to help give Americans hope for our soldiers to win the war.

Felix de Weldon was famous for making great memorial sculptures, so they asked him to make a sculpture to match the picture.
It is made of bronze and weighs over 200,000 pounds.
There were six men in the statue, and when he sculpted it he had some of the soldiers who were the ones who actually raised up the flag pose for him to make sure his sculpture matched what they looked like.

On the front of the statue are the words "Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue" – "Semper Fidelis"
and on the back are the words "In Honor And Memory Of The Men Of The United States Marine Corps Who Have Given Their Lives To Their Country Since 10 November 1775"

The sculptor Felix de Weldon was born in Austria in 1907.
When he was 30 years old he moved to the US, where he became a citizen of the US.
He served in the Navy during world war II, and was famous for making over a thousand memorials all over the world, even Antarctica!


(from: wikipedia - marine corps war memorial)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Burkina Faso Masks

George Washington as President - Alexander Stirling Calder

We just learned about the statue of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark made by Charles Keck.

Another famous statue is George Washington as President, Accompanied by Wisdom and Justice made in New York in 1918 by Alexander Stirling Calder.

Calder's father was a sculptor, and as he grew up he studied art and helped his father with some of his projects.
He went to school in Pennsylvania, and then went to Paris when he was 20 to learn more about sculpture.
After he came back to the United States he became well known for making statues of important people.

In New York City they wanted to make a large arch for the 100th anniversary of George Washington becoming president.
They made it like the other famous arches in Paris and Rome.
Calder was asked to make a marble statue for this arch of Washington as President, and another artist made Washington as Commander in Chief of the military.
Sometimes they call these two statues Washington at Peace and Washington at War.



(from: wikipedia - alexander stirling calder)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gabon Mask

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark - Charles Keck

We just learned about the Black Hawk Statue - Lorado Taft.

Another famous American statue is Meriwether Lewis and William Clark made by Charles Keck in 1919.

Keck was born in 1875 in New York, and went to school to study art in America and also in Italy.

He became famous for making statues of famous people across America.

The statue which is also called "Their First View of the Pacific" is of the famous explorers Lewis and Clark, along with their Native American guide Sacagawea.

In 1803 America made a deal with France to buy a big piece of land in the middle of North America.
This land later became the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.

Because the land was so big, they needed someone to go explore, so Lewis and Clark went off from Pennsylvania and traveled all the way to the west coast to the Pacific Ocean.
Along the way they met Sacagawea, a 16 year old Native American woman who stayed with them and helped guide them safely all the way.

At the bottom of the statue are the words: "Bold and farseeing pathfinders who carried the flag of the young republic to the western ocean and revealed an unknown empire to the uses of mankind."


(from: wikipedia - meriwether lewis and william clark (sculpture))



(from: wikipedia - lewis and clark expedition)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chiwara

Black Hawk Statue - Lorado Taft

We just learned about the sculpture of Johns Hopkins by Hans Schuler.

Another famous American sculpture is the Black Hawk Statue, also called The Eternal Indian made by Lorado Taft in 1911, in Oregon Illinois.

This statue is 48 feet tall, and stands on a 77 foot high cliff by the Rock River overlooking the city.
Black Hawk was a Sauk Native American who fought many battles for his tribe in Illinois.
The statue is the second tallest concrete statue of a person, just after the statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro.

Taft made many other monument statues honoring people in the Midwest area.
In Chicago he made a 126 foot long sculpture with 100 people called Fountain of Time showing the peace of the US and Great Britain for 100 years.
He also made The Soldier's Monument in Oregon Illinois, honoring the people who fought in the Spanish-American war.

Taft was born in Elmwood Illinois, where he grew up learning about sculpting.
When he was 20 he moved to Paris to learn more about sculpting, and then moved back in 1886 to Chicago to make sculptures and become a teacher.

He helped teach sculpting to many other people in America that went on to become famous.


(from: wikipedia - black hawk statue)



(from: wikipedia - fountain of time)



(from: wikipedia - the soldier's monument)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Benin Bronzes

Johns Hopkins - Hans Schuler

We just learned about the Civil War Memorial by Martin Milmore.

Another famous American work of art is the statue of Johns Hopkins, made in 1935 in Baltimore Maryland by Hans Schuler.

Schuler was born in Germany in 1874, and then came to American when he was young.
He went to art school in Maryland, and then later moved to France to work with some famous sculptors there.

When he was 32, he moved back to Maryland and stayed there for the rest of his life.
He was famous for making public monuments in Baltimore, and was called "Baltimore's Monument Maker".
There are a few cemeteries in town that he made a lot of sculptures for.

When he was 61 he made the statue of Johns Hopkins.
Johns Hopkins was famous for helping build hospitals and schools, and also was famous for fighting against slavery.
This statue of him was placed at Johns Hopkins University.


(from: wikipedia - hans schuler)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mask for King Obalufon II

Civil War Memorial - Martin Milmore

We just learned about the statue of Joan of Ark by Anna Hyatt Huntington.

Another famous American sculpture is the Civil War Memorial by Martin Milmore in 1873 in Pennsylvania.

After the civil war was over, many cities wanted to put up statues for memorials for soldiers that fought and died in the war.
In Chester cemetery in Pennsylvania, there is a statue of a Union soldier made by Martin Milmore in 1873.

Underneath the soldier is a stone base that has the words:

"The people of Delaware County erected this monument to commemorate the patriotism of their citizens, soldiers and sailors who fell in defense of the Union in the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865"

Martin Milmore was a sculptor who was born in Ireland and then moved to Boston.
His older brother helped him learn to be a sculptor, and then he took art lessons to keep getting better.

He was already getting jobs as a sculptor when he was 20 years old, and he became famous for making soldier's monuments.

Sadly he died very young at only 38 years old.

He was a good friend of sculptor Daniel Chester French, who made a famous sculpture at his grave site called Death and the Sculptor.
It shows an image of a woman who is supposed to be the spirit of death, coming to take a young Martin Milmore away.


(from: wikipedia - chester rural cemetery)



(from: wikipedia - death and the sculptor)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nok Terracotta

Joan of Ark - Anna Hyatt Huntington

We just learned about the Penguins - Albert Laessle.

Another famous American sculpture is Joan of Ark by Anna Hyatt Huntington made in New York in 1915.

She became famous for making bronze sculptures of people and animals like Andrew Jackson, El Cid, Don Quixote, and Abraham Lincoln.

In 1915 she was asked to make a statue of Joan of Ark, and it was so well known that even people like Thomas Edison's wife came to see it.


(from: wikipedia - equestrian statue of arc (new york city)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pisa Griffin

Penguins - Albert Laessle

We just learned about the John Dill - Herbert Haseltine.

Another famous American statue is Penguins by Albert Laessle, made in 1917 in Philadelphia.

Laessle was born in 1877 in Philadelphia, and went to college to learn about art.
When he was 27 he moved to Paris to study art with some other masters.

He was famous for making sculptures of animals, like his bronze Penguins sculpture which is at the Philadelphia zoo.


(from: wikipedia - albert laessle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Trà Kiệu Pedestal

John Dill - Herbert Haseltine

We just learned about the Meat for Wild Men by Charles Marion Russell.

Another famous American statue is John Dill by Herbert Haseltine, made in 1950 in Virginia.

Haseltine was born in Italy, then studied art in America, Germany and Paris.

He was very good at sculpting many animals, but he was best at making horse, or "equestrian" sculptures.

John Dill was a famous war hero from Britain, who was very important in helping the United States and Britain work together in World War II.


(from: wikipedia - herbert haseltine)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Borobudur

Meat for Wild Men - Charles Marion Russell

We just learned about the sculpture Patience and Fortitude - Edward Clark Potter.

Another famous American sculpture is Meat for Wild Men made by Charles Marion Russell in 1920.

Russell was born in Missouri in 1864 Missouri.
Growing up he would see explorers coming through town and really liked everything about the wild west.
He would draw pictures and make sculptures of what he saw.

When he grew up he moved to Montana where he worked on a sheep ranch, then as a hunter and trapper, lived with Native Americans, and even worked as a cowboy.

Because he spent time in the west watching animals, cowboys, and Native Americans he knew them very well and started making very good paintings and sculptures of them.

He made over 2,000 of these types of paintings, and was nicknamed "The Cowboy Artist".

The sculpture he made called Meat for Wild Men is supposed to be a bunch of cowboys hunting a buffalo.


(from: wikipedia - charles marion russell)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Banteay Srei Sculptures

Patience and Fortitude - Edward Clark Potter

We just learned about the On the Prowl - Edward Kemeys.

Another famous American sculpture is Patience and Fortitude made by Edward Clark Potter in 1910.

Potter was born in Connecticut in 1857, and grew up in Massachusetts.
He started off going to college to be a minister, but then later studied to be an artist.

He worked with famous artist Daniel Chester French where he learned about animal studies, and when he was 53 he made the sculpture of two lions out of pink Tennessee marble that are outside the front of the New York public library.

He named the lions Leo Astor and Leo Lenox for the private libraries that are inside the library.
During the Great Depression, the mayor of New York said that the people there were showing great Patience and Fortitude, so they renamed the lions to Patience and Fortitude to honor the people that lived through the Depression.



(from: wikipedia - edward clark potter)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Taj Mahal

On the Prowl - Edward Kemeys

We just learned about the Great Spirit - Cyrus Edwin Dallin.

Another famous American sculpture is On the Prowl made by Edward Kemeys in 1893.

Kemeys was born in Georgia, and then later moved to New York.
He served in the civil war when he was 19 years old.

When he was in New York and Paris he learned to be a very good sculptor of animals.

He made two large bronze lions called "On the Prowl", and these sculptures are now in the front of the Art Institute of Chicago.


(from: wikipedia - lions (kemeys))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jama Masjid

Appeal to the Great Spirit - Cyrus Edwin Dallin

We just learned about the Bucky O'Neill Monument by Solon Borglum.

Another famous American sculpture is the Appeal to the Great Spirit made by Cyrus Edwin Dallin, in 1908 in Boston.

This statue is made out of bronze, and is about 10 feet tall.
Dallin was born in Utah where there were a lot of Native Americans.
He grew up with them and learned a lot about their lives, and that helped him understand a little about the way they lived.

Later when he moved to Boston he learned about sculpture and went on to make a lot of very famous sculptures about Native Americans.

He made a group of 4 statues called "The Epic of the Indian", each with it's own name.

- A signal of Peace - A Native American man showing that he wants peace.
- The Medicine Man - A Native American medicine man.
- Protest of the Sioux - A Sioux warrior shaking his fist in the air, angry that his lands and buffalo are being stolen.
- Appeal to the Great Spirit - a Native American on horseback facing skyward, asking for help from the Great Spirit.





(from: wikipedia - appeal to the great spirit)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chola Nataraja

Bucky O'Neill Monument - Solon Borglum

We just learned about the sculpture of Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Riders by Alexander Proctor.

Another famous American sculpture is Bucky O'Neill Monument by Solon Borglum in 1907.

Borglum was born in 1868, and grew up in Western states like Utah and Nevada.
He moved all over the country to study and make art, living in Nebraska, Missouri, California, Ohio, Connecticut, South Dakota, New York and even France.
Bucky O'Neill was one of the Rough Riders that fought in the Spanish American war with president Teddy Roosevelt.
He died in battle and was considered a hero by many people, so they made this statue of him in Prescott Arizona.


(from: wikipedia - bucky o'neill monument)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ajanta Caves

Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider - Alexander Phimister Proctor

We just learned about the sculpture of Bronco Buster by Frederic Remington.

Another famous American sculpture is Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider made by Alexander Phimister Proctor in Portland Oregon in 1922.

Theodore Roosevelt was President of the US and a member of a group of people called the Rough Riders who were soldiers on horses.
The statue is 12 feet tall and 9 feet long and made of bronze.

The sculptor Proctor grew up in the West traveling around in the wild and learning to paint and study animals.
Because he knew animals so well he was one of the most famous sculptors of animals in America, and sometimes he would get asked to sculpt a horse while someone else sculpted the rider.


(from: wikipedia - theodore roosevelt, rough rider)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sanchi Stupa

The Bronco Buster - Frederic Remington

We just learned about the statue of Abraham Lincoln by Daniel Chester French.

Another famous American sculpture is The Bronco Buster by Frederic Remington, made in 1895.

Remington was born in New York in 1861.
He grew up learning to hunt and ride horses, and his father wanted him to be in the military like his family.
Frederic wanted to be an artist instead, so he learned to paint and sculpt at Yale University.

He really liked the cowboys and Native Americans from the south and west, so he traveled out to see a lot of them and then started to make paintings and sculptures of them.
One of his most famous sculptures is called the Bronco Buster.

This was a bronze sculpture of a cowboy fighting to control a wild bronco who is standing up and trying to get him to fly off.

It was so popular that it was given as a gift to president Theodore Roosevelt.


(from: wikipedia - the bronco buster)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mshatta Facade

Abraham Lincoln - Daniel Chester French

We just learned about the statue of Nathan Hale by Frederick William MacMonnies.

Another famous American sculpture is the statue of Abraham Lincoln made by Daniel Chester French in 1920.

French was born in New Hampshire, but later moved to Massachussets where he met some famous artists and was training how to sculpt.
He later went to Florence Italy to help learn from other famous sculptors.

Through his life he made a few other sculptures of Abraham Lincoln that people really liked, so he was chosen to make the most famous statue of Lincoln in Washington D.C.

He started the sculpture in 1914, and it took him 6 years to finish.
The statue is 30 feet tall, is made of 28 blocks of marble, and weighs 170 tons.

Lincoln is sitting in a chair, staring straight ahead looking serious.
There is an American flag over the sides and back of the chair.


(from: wikipedia - abraham lincoln (lincoln memorial))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Khajuraho Group of Monuments

Nathan Hale - Frederick William MacMonnies

We just learned about the sculpture of Standing Lincoln by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Another famous American statue is the sculpture of Nathan Hale by Frederick William MacMonnies in 1893.

MacMonnies was born in New York in 1863, and when he was 17 he started working with the famous artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens and became friends with him.

After a few years he went to Paris to study sculpture, and even opened his own art studio there.
He was one of the few American artists who was famous both in America and Paris.

When he was 30 years old he got a job in New York to make a big statue of Nathan Hale, who was a famous hero from the American Revolution.

It is about eight feet tall and made of Bronze, made in France and then brought over to America.


(from: wikipedia - nathan hale (statue))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mukteshvara Temple

Standing Lincoln - Augustus Saint-Gaudens

We just learned about the statue of Charles Sumner by Anne Whitney.

Another famous American statue is Standing Lincoln made by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1887 in Chicago.

Saint-Gaudens was born in Ireland in 1848, but moved to New York when he was a baby.
Growing up he learned about sculpture, and when he was 19 he moved to Paris and Rome to learn more about art.

He came back to American and in his adult life became very famous for making sculptors of Civil War heroes like Abraham Lincoln or Robert Gould Shaw.

His Standing Lincoln statue of Abraham Lincoln in Chicago is one of his most famous.
It is sometimes called "Abraham Lincoln: The Man" and is 12 feet tall made of bronze.

Many people say it is the most important sculpture of Lincoln from this time, and shows him rising from a chair about to give a speech.
Saint-Gaudens was at Lincoln's inauguration when he became president, and also at his funeral.
He really liked Lincoln a lot, and tried his best to make a statue that would stand for a long time honoring Lincoln.

It was such a famous statue in Chicago that famous people like Jane Addams would walk to the statue sometimes to look at it and be inspired by Lincoln's life.


(from: wikipedia - abraham lincoln: the man)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Konark Sun Temple