Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Born March 1, 1848

Dublin, Ireland

Died August 3, 1907 (aged 59)

Cornish, New Hampshire

Nationality American

Education Cooper Union, National Academy of Design, École des Beaux-Arts.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens (/ˌseɪntˈɡɔːdənz/; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance.[citation needed] Raised in New York City, he traveled to Europe for further training and artistic study, and then returned to New York, where he achieved major critical success for his monuments commemorating heroes of the American Civil War, many of which still stand. In addition to his works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common, and the outstanding grand equestrian monuments to Civil War Generals, John A. Logan in Chicago's Grant Park,[2] and William Tecumseh Sherman, at the corner of New York's Central Park, Saint-Gaudens also created Classical works such as the Diana, and employed his skills in numismatics. Most notably, he designed the $20 "double eagle" gold piece (1905–1907) for the US Mint, considered one of the most beautiful American coins ever issued[3] as well as the $10 "Indian Head" gold eagle, both of which were minted from 1907 until 1933. In his later years he founded the "Cornish Colony", an artistic colony that included notable painters, sculptors, writers, and architects.