Architectural sculpture in the United States
Encyclopedia
- see also Architectural sculptureArchitectural sculptureArchitectural sculpture is the term for the use of sculpture by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge, mausoleum or other such project...
Architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
is a general categorization used to describe items used for the decoration of building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
s and structure
Structure
Structure is a fundamental, tangible or intangible notion referring to the recognition, observation, nature, and permanence of patterns and relationships of entities. This notion may itself be an object, such as a built structure, or an attribute, such as the structure of society...
. In the United States, the term encompasses both sculpture that is attached to a building and free-standing pieces that are a part of the 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
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
s to caryatid
Caryatid
A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term karyatides literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient town of Peloponnese...
s and atlantes
Atlas (architecture)
In the classical European architectural tradition an atlas is a support sculpted in the form of a man, which may take the place of a column, a pier or a pilaster...
; multi-figure allegorical pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
s and the occasional quadriga
Quadriga
A quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast . It was raced in the Ancient Olympic Games and other contests. It is represented in profile as the chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and in bas-relief. The quadriga was adopted in ancient Roman chariot racing...
; bas-relief panels, carved friezes, keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
s, gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s, figures or designs on spandrel
Spandrel
A spandrel, less often spandril or splaundrel, is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure....
s and tympana
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
, cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
s, bracket
Bracket
Brackets are tall punctuation marks used in matched pairs within text, to set apart or interject other text. In the United States, "bracket" usually refers specifically to the "square" or "box" type.-List of types:...
s, column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s and capitals, and decorative brickwork.
Architectural sculptures were made from a variety of materials which includes carved stone such as brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
, terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
, cast iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, machine pressed sheet zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
and other materials. Terra cotta formed in plaster molds started to become the most popular material used in US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cities in the 1870s. Some one hundred companies were producing terra cotta architectural ornaments by 1900.
Many of the sculptures features Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
mythological
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
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
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
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 UpjohnRichard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
and James Renwick
James Renwick
James Renwick may refer to:*Jim Renwick , Scottish rugby player*Jim Renwick *James Renwick , Scottish Covenanter...
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
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
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 nation-wide.
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
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
with grog (i.e., terra cotta clay body) was then hand pressed into these plaster molds. Average thickness was about 1 1/2". 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 usually over a three week period to a very high stoneware
Stoneware
Stoneware is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic ware with a fine texture. Stoneware is made from clay that is then fired in a kiln, whether by an artisan to make homeware, or in an industrial kiln for mass-produced or specialty products...
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.
Notable American architectural sculptors
- Karl BitterKarl BitterKarl Theodore Francis Bitter was an Austrian-born United States sculptor best known for his architectural sculpture, memorials and residential work.- Life and career :...
- Caspar BuberlCaspar BuberlCaspar Buberl 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 , and for the -long frieze on the Pension Building in Washington, D.C..-Biography:Born in Königsberg, Bohemia, Caspar Buberl (1834 –...
- Rene Paul ChambellanRene Paul ChambellanRene Paul Chambellan was an American sculptor, born in West Hoboken, New Jersey.Chambellan studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian in Paris and with Solon Borglum in New York City. Chambellan specialized in architectural sculpture...
- Ulric EllerhusenUlric EllerhusenUlric Henry Ellerhusen 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....
- Marshall FredericksMarshall FredericksMarshall Maynard Fredericks was an American sculptor.-Biography:Fredericks was born of Scandinavian heritage in Rock Island, Illinois on January 31, 1908. His family moved to Florida for a short time and then settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he grew up...
- Daniel Chester FrenchDaniel Chester FrenchDaniel Chester French was an American sculptor. His best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Life and career:...
- C. Paul JenneweinC. Paul JenneweinCarl Paul Jennewein was a German-born American sculptor.-Early career:Jennewein was born in Stuttgart in Germany. He immigrated to the United States in 1907....
- Lee LawrieLee LawrieLee Oscar Lawrie was one of the United States' foremost architectural sculptors and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II...
- Carl MillesCarl MillesCarl Milles was a Swedish sculptor, best known for his fountains. He was married to artist Olga Milles and brother to Ruth Milles and half brother to the architect Evert Milles...
- Corrado ParducciCorrado ParducciCorrado Giuseppe Parducci was an Italian-American architectural sculptor who was a celebrated artist for his numerous early 20th Century works.-Early life and education:...
- J. Massey RhindJ. Massey RhindJohn Massey Rhind 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...
- Ulysses RicciUlysses RicciUlysses Ricci 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 Cooper Union Institute and at the Art Students League with James Earle...
- Edward WagnerEdward Wagner-Early years:Wagner had immigrated from Germany to Detroit, Michigan by 1871. After arriving in Detroit he studied with Detroit sculptor Julius Melchers . He also studied in New York....
- Adolph Alexander WeinmanAdolph Alexander WeinmanAdolph Alexander Weinman was an American sculptor, born in Karlsruhe, Germany.- Biography :Weinman arrived in the United States at the age of 10. At the age of 15, he attended evening classes at Cooper Union and later studied at the Art Students League of New York with sculptors Augustus St....
- Lyndon StrombergLyndon Stromberg- Lyndon D. Stromberg : 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 Casino and the "Virgin of Guadalupe" at the Dallas Cathedral Cathedral...
External links
- Friends of terra cotta Non profit preservation group and database.