He worked as an assistant to the sculptors Charles Niehaus, Olin Warner, and Daniel Chester French before opening his own studio in 1904.[2] Although Weinman is now best remembered as a medalist, he considered himself to be an architectural sculptor.[3] His steadiest income was derived from the sale of small bronze reproductions of his larger works, such as Descending Night, originally commissioned for the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915.[4]
Weinman's works are mostly executed in a lyrical neoclassical style. His figures typically wear classical drapery, but there is a fluidity found in his work that is a harbinger of the Art Deco style that was to follow him. His bronze statuette The Nude Golfer epitomizes this style. This work evokes classical sculpture in its attention to anatomy and movement and the nude status of the athlete while the subject, a modern golfer, provides a modern twist.[11]
Drafting the Declaration of Independence Pediment (1939–1943), Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.
U.S. coins and medals
1904 World Fair, Louisiana Purchase Exposition award Medals The obverse of the medal depicts two female figures above the date MCMIV (1904). The tall taller figure is Columbia, with her arms spread wide holding the United States flag. The youthful maiden at her side represents the Louisiana Purchase Territory. Emblematic of her reception into the union, the maiden is divesting herself of the cloak of France, the material decorated with bees, the emblem of Napoleon. In the background is the rising sun, marking the dawn of a new era of progress to the nation. Encircling the two figures are the words “Universal Exposition – Saint Louis – United States of America.”
[15] The reverse shows an architectural tablet inscribed with “Gold Medal” and “Louisiana Purchase Exposition”. Below the tablet are two dolphins symbolizing the nations’ eastern and western boundaries, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Above the tablet is a large eagle with its wings spread. The inscription reads “Gold Medal (Silver and Bronze Medals were also given out) Louisiana Purchase Exposition 1904”. In addition to the medal a diploma of award was also given to the recipient. The medal weights approximately 3.5 ounces.
Mercury dime (1916–1945). More than two billion Mercury dimes were minted before it was replaced by the Roosevelt dime in 1946.[16] The design is now used as the obverse of the American Palladium Eagle coin, which has been produced since 2017.
^Reiter, Ed (January 31, 2000). "The Weinman Legacy–Part 1". PCGS Library. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
^"Descending Night". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
^"Adolph Alexander Weinman". Olympedia. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
^Luebke, Thomas E. (ed.) Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 557.
^One is illustrated in Walsh, Kevin. Forgotten New York: The Ultimate Urban Explorer's Guide to All Five Boroughs, 2006:169: "Others can be found in Kings Point and Hicksville and as far away as Philadelphia".
^ a bZacharias, Pat (September 5, 1999). "The Monuments of Detroit". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
^Federal Writers' Project (1996). The WPA Guide to Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. p. 120. ISBN 0813108659. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
^"Sculpture". Joseph Kiselewski. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
^"Adolph Alexander Weinman". Fine Art, May 2007. Rago Arts and Auction Center. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011.
^Jules Heller; Nancy G. Heller (December 19, 2013). North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-63882-5.
^"Statue of General Alexander Macomb". January 4, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
^Lloyd, Marshall Davies (August 20, 2006). "Navarre Arms: The Navarres of Meaux and New France". Retrieved August 3, 2016.
^"1904 St. Louis World's Fair Medals: Louisiana Purchase Exposition Collectibles". January 12, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
^Lange, David W. A Complete Guide Book to Mercury Dimes (Virginia Beach, Va.: DLRC Press, 1993). ISBN 978-1-880731-17-8.
Bibliography
Kvaran and Lockley, A Guide to the Architectural Sculpture of America, unpublished manuscript
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adolph Alexander Weinman.