Eugenie Frederica Shonnard (1886–1978) 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 ...

and painter born in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as en ...

Career

Shonnard began her art studies at the New York School of Applied Design for Women with

Alphonse Mucha Alfons Maria Mucha (; 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his distinctly stylized and decorat ...

Rubenstein, Charlotte Streifer, American Women Sculptors, G.K. Hall & Co., Boston 1990 p. 246 and at the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

with James Earle Fraser.Rubenstein, Charlotte Streifer, American Women Artists, G.K. Hall & Co., Boston 1982 p. 212 In 1911 she moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

where she studied with sculptors Antoine Bourdelle and Auguste Rodin. There she exhibited at the Paris Salons of 1912, 1913 and 1922.Exhibition of American Sculpture Catalogue, 156th Street of Broadway New York, The National Sculpture Society 1923, p. 227 Shonnard also exhibited at the

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appa ...

in 1916, the Museum of Modern Art in 1933 and the 1939 New York World's Fair. Among her notable early sculptures are busts of Alphonse Mucha and Dinah, the

Bronx Zoo The Bronx Zoo (also historically the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York. It is one of the largest zoos in the United States by area and is the largest metropolitan zoo in ...

's first gorilla. Bust of Alfons Mucha

In 1926, Edgar L. Hewett, director of the School of American Research invited her to settle in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she was given studio space at the

Museum of New Mexico The Museum of New Mexico is a collection of museums, historic sites, and archaeological services governed by the State of New Mexico. It currently consists of six divisions : the Palace of the Governors state history museum, the New Mexico Museum o ...

. While in New Mexico she became well respected for her carvings of Pueblo Indians. She traveled to the Pueblos and learned how they make pottery with Maximiliana, the sister of famous San Ildefonso potter,

Maria Martinez Maria Montoya Martinez (1887, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico – July 20, 1980, San Ildefonso Pueblo) was a Native American artist who created internationally known pottery. Martinez (born Maria Poveka Montoya), her husband Julian, and o ...

. Shonnard's ''Pueblo Indian with Bowl'' sculpture was unanimously chosen to represent New Mexico in the 1938 exhibition of sculpture at the

Architectural League The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines". The league dates from 1881, when Cass Gilbert organized meetings at the Salmagundi Club for ...

in New York. She had solo exhibitions at the

New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located at 107 West Palace Avenue, one block off the ...

in 1928, 1937 and 1954 and at the

Roswell Museum and Art Center The Roswell Museum (formerly Roswell Museum and Art Center) was founded in 1936 and is located in Roswell, New Mexico, United States. The museum features exhibits about the art and history of the American Southwest, as well as the Robert H. God ...

in 1969. In May 1954 she was awarded an honorary fellowship in fine arts by the School of American Research and Museum of New Mexico. Shonnard was an early proponent of the "

direct carving This page describe terms and jargon related to sculpture and sculpting. __NOTOC__ A armature :An armature is an internal frame or skeleton which supports a modelled sculpture. A typical armature for a small sculpture is made of heavy gauge ...

" style of creating sculpture. She developed a cement material she called Keenstone which she used for both sculptural and architectural work. Shonnard was a member of the

National Association of Women Artists The National Association of Women Artists, Inc. (NAWA) is a United States organization, founded in 1889 to gain recognition for professional women fine artists in an era when that field was strongly male-oriented. It sponsors exhibitions, awards ...

and the

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members ...

and exhibited at their 1923 and 1929 exhibitions. In 1939 she created wood panels—''Indians'' and ''Cattle''—for the U.S. Court House and Post Office in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

, through the

Section of Painting and Sculpture The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture was a New Deal art project established on October 16, 1934, and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury. Commonly known as the Section, it was rena ...

Personal life

Shonnard was the daughter of

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Major Frederic Shonnard of the

6th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment The 6th Regiment New York Heavy Artillery, U.S. Volunteers, the "Anthony Wayne Guard", was an artillery regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was originally mustered in as the 135th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and ...

, and Eugenie Smyth Shonnard, a descendant of

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

signatory Francis Lewis. On July 26, 1933 she married E. Gordon Ludlam.

Collections

Works by Shonnard can be found in: * Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York *

Hudson River Museum The Hudson River Museum, located in Trevor Park in Yonkers, New York, is the largest museum in Westchester County. The Yonkers Museum, founded in 1919 at City Hall, became the Hudson River Museum in 1948. While often considered an art museum by th ...

, Santa Fe, New Mexico * Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, Chapel, Santa Fe, New Mexico * Sacred Heart of Mary Chapel, Santa Fe, New Mexico * New Mexico Veterans Center,

Truth or Consequences, New Mexico Truth or Consequences (often abbreviated as T or C) is a city in New Mexico, and the county seat of Sierra County. In 2020, the population was 6,052. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names for having chosen to rename itse ...

* Sandia Preparatory School, Albuquerque, New Mexico *

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

, Cleveland, Ohio *

Brookgreen Gardens Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens featuring American figurative sculptures, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails throu ...

Murrells Inlet, South Carolina Murrells Inlet is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,547 at the 2010 census. It is about 13 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and 21 miles north ...

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College (FAC) is an arts center located just north of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. Located on the same city block are the American Numismatic Association and part of the campus of Colorado ...

, Colorado Springs, Colorado * Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas *

Musée National d'Art Moderne The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou in the 4th arrondissement of the city. In 2021 it ranked 10th in t ...

Centre Georges-Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Luxembourg Museum Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, Paris, France

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shonnard, Eugenie 1886 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American sculptors American women sculptors Painters from New York City Art Students League of New York alumni New York School of Applied Design for Women alumni Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico Artists of the American West Section of Painting and Sculpture artists 20th-century American painters American women painters Artists from Yonkers, New York 20th-century American women artists Federal Art Project artists National Sculpture Society members Sculptors from New York (state) Sculptors from New Mexico 20th-century American women sculptors