Architectural Sculpture In The United States
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Architectural sculpture Architectural sculpture is the use of sculptural techniques by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge, mausoleum or other such project. The sculpture is usually integrated with the structure, but freestanding works that a ...
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Architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...
sculpture 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 ...
is a general categorization used to describe items used for the decoration of
building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...
s and
structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
s. In the United States, the term encompasses both sculpture that is attached to a building and free-standing pieces that are a part of an architects design.


Development in the United States

Widespread use of architectural sculpture in the United States began around 1870, and hit its high point between 1890 and 1920 while evolving through several styles. In that period most major public buildings were designed with sculptural programs of one kind or another. Without completely disappearing, the practice declined with the advent of architectural modernism around 1940. Integrated sculpture on buildings can range from full-figure
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
s to caryatids and atlantes; multi-figure allegorical
pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...
s and the occasional quadriga;
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 the ...
panels, carved friezes, keystones,
gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...
s, figures or designs on spandrels and tympana,
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
s,
bracket A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
s,
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
s and capitals, and decorative brickwork. Architectural sculptures were made from a variety of materials which includes carved stone such as
brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...
,
terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
, cast
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
, machine pressed sheet
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
,
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
and other materials. Terra cotta formed in plaster molds started to become the most popular material used in US cities in the 1870s. Some one hundred companies were producing terra cotta architectural ornaments by 1900. Many of the sculptures features Greek and
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
figures and designs depicting a variety of gods, monsters and other fantasy creatures. There was also extensive use of leaves, flowers, vines, most of which had symbolic meanings associated with them. The sculptures differ from common
garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...
statues by virtue of their original intent as well as designs which were meant to be embedded into a masonry wall.


The production of architectural sculpture in terra cotta

Before the 1870s in the United States, architectural decoration was fairly sparse and largely consisted of wood or hand carved stone; these were both time-consuming and expensive. Experiments with terra cotta for this use were done in the 1850s; noted architects Richard Upjohn and James Renwick made the earliest use of the new material. At first there were technical difficulties and failures due to underfiring, as well as fierce resistance from stone cutters fearing loss of their livelihood. By the 1870s
terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
was fast becoming the material of choice, as it was far easier to make, allowed for unlimited designs and could be made rapidly and inexpensively. Large sculptures and decorative schemes were divided into a multitude of blocks so that they could be reassembled by masons with mortar and metal cramps in place on the steel frames of the new architecture. This protected the steel from fire as well as the elements. The Chicago Terra Cotta Company, Midland Terra Cotta Company, N. Y. Architectural Terra Cotta Co., (Brooklyn 1886), Boston Terra Cotta Company (1880), Boston Valley Terra Cotta Company (NY 1889), Atlantic Terra Cotta Company, Gladding-McBean and many others began production of models, molds and finished ware for architects nationwide. The process started with the architect's or designer's sketches and drawings; sculptors created original models in the factory, usually of clay and sized about 14% larger than the final product to allow for shrinkage. The architects approved the models or suggested changes to them. Once the model was approved, plaster piece molds were made of the clay models. At this point, in order to create many identical multiples, additional molds were made of the model or of the first plaster piece mold. Properly formulated
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
with grog (i.e., terra cotta clay body) was then hand pressed into these plaster molds. Average thickness was about 1". Internal webbing and holes were also added by hand. Pieces were removed sometime later from the mold, once the clay had stiffened due to water absorption into the plaster and then finished by hand to remove defects and add more details. The model number and other identity numbers according to the blueprints were inscribed in the clay to guide the masons' installation of the pieces. Once dry, the clay pieces were fired in very large wood-fired and later- gas fired
kilns A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...
usually over a three-week period to a very high stoneware temperature. Various colored glazes and textures could also be applied to the visible surfaces if desired. Glaze increased the waterproofing quality, as did the (second) glaze firing. 1895 salvaged architectural keystone.jpg, Circa 1895 terra cotta keystone. Webbing-terra-cotta.jpg, Back of a typical 1915 terra cotta keystone. Note the heavy internal structural webbing. Elk-panel-back.jpg, Back of a typical sculpture showing incised numbering system. Griff-pediment.jpg, Multiple section terra cotta in the tympanum, a form used over windows and doors.


Notable American architectural sculptors

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Clement Barnhorn Clement John Barnhorn (1857–1935) was an American sculptor and educator known for his memorials, architectural sculpture, and ecclesiastic and funerary works. Early years Born in Cincinnati, Ohio Barnhorn began his art studies at the Art Acad ...
* Karl Bitter *
Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl (1834 – August 22, 1899) was an American sculptor. He is best known for his Civil War monuments, for the terra cotta relief panels on the Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio (depicting the various stages of James Garfield' ...
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Rene Paul Chambellan Rene Paul Chambellan (September 15, 1893 – November 29, 1955) was an American sculptor who specialized in architectural sculpture. He was also one of the foremost practitioners of what was then called the "French Modern Style" and has subseque ...
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Ulric Ellerhusen Ulric Henry Ellerhusen (1879–1957) first name variously cited as Ulrich or Ulrik, surname sometimes cited as Ellerhousen) was a German-American sculptor and teacher best known for his architectural sculpture. Ellerhusen was born on April 7, 1879 ...
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Marshall Fredericks Marshall Maynard Fredericks (January 31, 1908 – April 4, 1998) was an American sculptor known for such works as ''Fountain of Eternal Life'', ''The Spirit of Detroit'', ''Man and the Expanding Universe Fountain'', and many others. Early life a ...
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Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture ''The Minute Man'' in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monume ...
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C. Paul Jennewein Carl Paul Jennewein (December 2, 1890 – February 22, 1978) was a German-born American sculptor. Early career Jennewein was born in Stuttgart in Germany. At the age of seventeen, he immigrated to the United States in 1907. He was apprentic ...
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Lee Lawrie Lee Oscar Lawrie (October 16, 1877 – January 23, 1963) was an American architectural sculptor and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II. Over his long career of more than 300 commissions Lawrie's style evolved through ...
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Carl Milles Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedish sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the Gustaf Vasa statu ...
* Corrado Parducci *
J. Massey Rhind John Massey Rhind (9 July 1860 – 1 January 1936) was a Scottish-American sculptor. Among Rhind's better known works is the marble statue of Dr. Crawford W. Long located in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington D.C. (1926). E ...
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Ulysses Ricci Ulysses Anthony Ricci (1888–1960) was an American sculptor known primarily for his architectural sculpture. Born in New York City, Ricci was an apprentice at the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Works in New Jersey from 1902 to 1906. He studied at ...
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Lyndon Stromberg Lyndon Dean Stromberg (b. November 27, 1962) is an American entrepreneur, sculptor and artist. Works include "Our Universe" at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian, "Rome" at Caesars Palace, "The World" at Winstar C ...
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Edward Wagner Edward Q Wagner (1855, Germany – 1922, Detroit, United States) was a German-American sculptor. Early years Wagner had immigrated from Germany to the United States by 1871 settling in Detroit, Michigan. After arriving in Detroit he studie ...
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Adolph Alexander Weinman Adolph Alexander Weinman (December 11, 1870 – August 8, 1952) was a Germany-born American sculptor and architectural sculptor. Early life and education Adolph Alexander Weinman was born December 11, 1870 at Durmersheim, near Karlsruhe, Germ ...


See also

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Pedimental sculptures in the United States Pedimental sculptures are sculptures within the frame of a pediment on the exterior of a building, some examples of which can be found in the United States. Pedimental sculpture pose special challenges to sculptors: the triangular composition limi ...


External links

{{commonscat, Architectural sculptures in the United States
Friends of terra cotta
Non profit preservation group and database. Architectural sculpture American sculpture Architecture in the United States Landscape design history of the United States sk:Architektonické sochárstvo