''The Solitude of the Soul'' refers to one of three known works of sculpture of that name by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sculptor Lorado Taft, a Midwesterner born in 1860, who was active in the Chicago area from 1885 until his death in 1936. The accompanying photographs show the best-known version, carved in marble and dated 1914, which is among works of American sculpture on display in the Roger McCormick Memorial Court of the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. Additional photographs, Links to photographs ''circa'' 1911, show models of this work in Taft’s studio prior to the First World War. Taft, an Illinois native who had been classically trained in Paris and who came increasingly under the influence of

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

, explained the concept of the statue as follows: "The thought is the eternally present fact that however closely we may be thrown together by circumstances . . . we are unknown to each other." Two other versions are known to exist. One is a near-same-sized plaster cast, possibly as early as 1901 and probably one of the models shown in the 1911 photographs, now in the collection of American art at the

Dayton Art Institute The Dayton Art Institute (DAI) is a museum of fine arts in Dayton, Ohio, United States. The Dayton Art Institute has been rated one of the top 10 best art museums in the United States for children. The museum also ranks in the top 3% of all art mus ...

. The other is a smaller but much finer version cast in bronze, presently in the collection of the

Krannert Art Museum The Krannert Art Museum (KAM) is a fine art museum located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois, United States. It has of space devoted to all periods of art, dating from ancient Egypt to contemporary photogra ...

on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During his lifetime Taft was friendly toward many Chicago-area artists and writers, including novelist Henry Blake Fuller, ''Poetry'' magazine founder and editor

Harriet Monroe Harriet Monroe (December 23, 1860 – September 26, 1936) was an American editor, scholar, literary critic, poet, and patron of the arts. She was the founding publisher and long-time editor of ''Poetry'' magazine, first published in 1912. As a ...

, and his own brother-in-law, novelist Hamlin Garland. Midwestern poet

Jared Carter Jared Carter may refer to: *Jared Carter (Latter Day Saints) (1801-1849), an early missionary in the Latter Day Saint movement *Jared Carter (poet) Jared Carter (born January 10, 1939) is an American poet and editor. Life Carter was born in a sm ...

pays tribute to Taft's "The Solitude of the Soul" in his contemporary sonnet of the same name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solitude of the Soul, The Sculptures of the Art Institute of Chicago Sculptures by Lorado Taft 1914 sculptures Sculptures in the United States Marble sculptures Nude sculptures