Masters of American Sculpture

Book excerpt: Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the National Sculpture Society, this important history traces America's rich heritage of figurative sculpture from the Columbian exposition of 1893 to the present. Illustrated with outstanding examples of American figurative sculpture of the last century, this volume begins with an analysis of the influence of the Beaux-Arts tradition on the creation of the great public monuments of the young republic. With this background, the book moves on to survey important categories of sculpture chronologically. Equestrian monuments and countless tributes to war heroes are surveyed in one category. In another important grouping, author David Martin Reynolds surveys portrait sculpture. He also includes a section on medallic art, a category usually neglected in sculpture surveys. In another innovation, Dr. Reynolds devotes a chapter to American Indians, both as widely favored subjects for sculpture and as sculptors themselves. Not neglecting genre, the author deals extensively with the large group of sculptors who concentrated on animals. Finally he surveys the figurative tradition in the twentieth century and speculates on future trends in sculpture. Donald Martin Reynolds teaches at the School of Architecture, Columbia University, in New York City and is the author of many articles and books on sculpture, including Monuments and Masterpieces, which was favorably reviewed in the New York Times Book Reviews. 210 illustrations