Alan LeQuire
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Alan LeQuire (born 1955) is 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 ...
from Nashville,
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. Many of his sculptures are installed in the city.


Early life

Alan LeQuire was born in 1955. His father, Virgil, was a physician and researcher on the faculty of
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
School of Medicine. His mother, Louise, was a painter, art teacher, and writer. The young LeQuire showed an early interest in sculpture. While an undergraduate at
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
, he studied independently under professor of sculpture Puryear Mims and
Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as well as a college of Postgr ...
sculptor Jim Gibson. He spent his senior year in France, studied art history, and earned a degree in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
. After a year in Rome learning bronze casting as an assistant to New York City artist Milton Hebald, LeQuire entered the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand- ...
, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree.


Career

LeQuire specializes in work of great scale, usually large public commissions. His most famous work is the replica of
Phidias Phidias or Pheidias (; grc, Φειδίας, ''Pheidias'';  480 – 430 BC) was a Greek sculptor, painter, and architect. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the stat ...
'
Athena Parthenos The statue of Athena Parthenos ( grc, Παρθένος Ἀθηνᾶ, lit=Athena the Virgin) was a monumental chryselephantine sculpture of the goddess Athena. Attributed to Phidias and dated to the mid-fifth century BCE, it was an offering fr ...
that stands in the naos of the full-scale reconstruction of the Acropolis
Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
in Nashville's Centennial Park. This statue, cast in a composite of
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywal ...
and
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
on a steel and aluminum armature, is currently the largest piece of indoor sculpture in the Western World, standing almost 42 feet (13 m) tall. LeQuire received the commission for the work in 1982, and it was unveiled in 1990 in a stark, white finish. In 2002, LeQuire oversaw a polychroming and gilding process that brought the statue to an appearance close to what ancient Greek visitors may have seen at the original Parthenon. In 1997 LeQuire created a sculptural group of life-size portraits of Tennessee
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
activists Elizabeth Avery Meriwether, Anne Dallas Dudley, and
Lizzie Crozier French Margaret Elizabeth Crozier French (May 7, 1851 – May 14, 1926) was an American educator, women's suffragist and social reform activist. She was one of the primary leaders in the push for women's rights in Tennessee in the early 1900s, and ...
. The sculpture is on display in Market Square in downtown
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...
and is known as the Tennessee Woman Suffrage Memorial. LeQuire also created a large bronze relief for the
Tennessee State Capitol The Tennessee State Capitol, located in Nashville, Tennessee, is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Tennessee. It serves as the home of both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly–the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tenn ...
in Nashville dedicated to the Women's Rights Movement and commemorating passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
in 1920—Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, thus making it part of the U.S. Constitution. Another large-scale work is '' Musica'', a bronze statue grouping unveiled in 2003 that sits in a grassy knoll at the center of
Buddy Killen William Doyce “Buddy” Killen (November 13, 1932 – November 1, 2006) was an American record producer and music publisher, and a former owner of Trinity Broadcasting Network and Tree International Publishing, the largest country music ...
Circle, a roundabout where Division Street meets 17th Avenue South in the
Music Row Music Row is a historic district located southwest of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry, Music Row has also become a metonymous nickname for the music industry as a w ...
area of Nashville. Musica is over tall, and consists of nine colossal nude figures, male and female, dancing in a circle. It is the largest bronze figure group in the United States. LeQuire is also a portrait sculptor. Other works by LeQuire include: * Life-size bronze sculptures at Blair School of Music and near Kirkland Hall at
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
. * A heroic bronze of
Timothy Demonbreun Jacques-Timothée Boucher, Sieur de Montbrun (; 23 March 1731 – October 1826), anglicized as Timothy Demonbreun, was a French-Canadian fur trader, a Lieutenant in the American Revolution, and Lieutenant-Governor of the Illinois Territory. H ...
, French
fur trapper Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket ...
and an early Nashville inhabitant, was completed in 1996 and now stands on the west bank of the Cumberland River. * Tennessee's Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, a well-composed grouping of three figures in action, is located on
War Memorial Plaza War Memorial Plaza is a public square, small park and space in Downtown Baltimore between City Hall and the War Memorial Building, between Holliday Street on the west, East Fayette Street on the south, North Gay Street on the east, and East Lexi ...
, the building the houses the Tennessee General Assembly. * 24 bronze reliefs of Tennessee scenes and
wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...
are displayed on the exterior doors of the downtown
Nashville Public Library Nashville Public Library is the public library serving Nashville, Tennessee and the metropolitan area of Davidson County. In 2010, the Nashville Public Library was the recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The library ...
, designed by
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Robert Stern. LeQuire also has two portrait
bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...
s in the library's Grand Reading Room. * A life-size statue of
Jack Daniel Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel ( January 1849 – October 9, 1911) was an American distiller and businessman, best known as the founder of the Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distillery. Early life Daniel was the youngest of ten children born ...
, located at the distillery in Lynchburg, TN. * A monument in Centennial Park in Nashville, featuring depictions of
Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt (; January 9, 1859 Fowler, p. 3 – March 9, 1947) was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt ...
, Anne Dallas Dudley,
Abby Crawford Milton Abby Crawford Milton (6 February 1881 – 2 May 1991) was an American suffragist and supercentenarian. She was the last president of the Tennessee Equal Suffrage Association. She traveled throughout Tennessee making speeches and organizing suffrag ...
,
Juno Frankie Pierce Juno Frankie Seay Pierce, also known as Frankie Pierce or J. Frankie Pierce (c. 1864 – 1954), was an American educator and suffrage, suffragist. Pierce opened the Tennessee Vocational School for Colored Girls in 1923, and she served as its super ...
, and Sue Shelton White. * Statue of Sam Davis LeQuire was a Tennessee Arts Commission Fellow in 1986, and received a Tennessee Governor's Citation in 1987. In 1990 he was awarded an
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
Design Award for Athena Parthenos.


References


External links


Alan LeQuire's website

LeQuire Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lequire, Alan 1955 births Vanderbilt University alumni 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century male artists People from Nashville, Tennessee Living people 21st-century American sculptors 21st-century male artists American male sculptors Sculptors from Tennessee University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni