ARTIST STATEMENT

I have sculpted Augustus Saint-Gaudens for my submission to the Salmagundi Club Library portrait competition. He has been an important artist to me throughout my career, as I know he is to many other American sculptors. It would be distinct privilege for me to be a part of his
legacy.

When I began studying art, I moved to NYC, and that was where I became familiar with Saint-Gauden’s work. I passed the Sherman Memorial frequently and admired it greatly.

The sculpture is so large and has so many incredible elements. It is hard to fathom the skill it took Saint-Gaudens and his team to produce it, especially since they were working without the luxury of the materials we have at our disposal today.  As I began to pursue sculpture as a career, Saint-Gaudens became even more of an inspiration. Representational sculpture in the United States is sparse, and few American sculptor’s works have the powerful storytelling and naturalism his do.  The summers of 2020 and 2021 I was the sculptor in residence for Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, in 2021 was able to to work onsite at his old residence in NH.  It was moving to see a more intimate view of Saint-Gauden’s life, and my experience there humanized him for me in a way that viewing his works alone could not.  Being given window into his daily life made his sculptures somehow more meaningful. Because I could see his normal life, I could see his extraordinary works were done not by a superhuman individual, but by someone very human, talented and driven by his craft. Before my time at Saint-gauden’s Park, I imagined him as an artist larger than life, but seeing how he lived his life, just like the ones of friend’s and colleagues, made the scope and beauty of his accomplishments feel possible, rather than an unattainable effort.  It was formative, and I would be so honored to depict and artist who has emblemized many of the things I aspire to be as an artist, and who is a giant in American art history.

My maquette of Saint-Gaudens shows him in his mid forties, when he began undertaking the sculpting of the Sherman Memorial, a process that took him 12 years in total. I like the idea of honoring Saint-Gaudens at the height of career. At this time in his life, he had most of his public monuments behind him, and was internationally renowned as the foremost American sculptor of his era.  I’ve sculpted him with his full beard, which is an iconic part of his striking profile, and slightly wild hair, that almost never seams to be entirely tamed. He has an open coat, and vest, giving him a more casual attitude, even though he is well dressed. Saint-Gaudens has a look of concentration, that seems to have been permanently etched into his brow after years of sculpting. He is set on a rectangular base, to compliment his angular, geometric features.

I thought about my choice of subject for this competition for a long time, because undoubtedly there are many others who will also choose Saint-Gaudens… However, my excitement to sculpt him, and the connection I feel to his legacy made me sure about my decision to sculpt him.

It would be an enormous honor to be able to evince a personal hero, and to have a sculptural work in the Salmagundi club.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.