Adolph Alexander Weinman
Encyclopedia
Adolph Alexander Weinman (December 11, 1870 – August 8, 1952) was an American sculptor
, born in Karlsruhe
, Germany.
and later studied at the Art Students League of New York
with sculptors Augustus St. Gaudens and Philip Martiny
. He later served as an assistant to Charles Niehaus, Olin Warner
, and Daniel Chester French
. Weinman opened his own studio in 1904. Although Weinman is now best known as a medal
ist, when he once was introduced as such he vehemently denied being one and said that he was an architectural sculptor
. His steadiest income was derived from, the sale of small bronze reductions of his larger works, such as Descending Night, originally commissioned for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915
Weinman was a member of the National Sculpture Society
, of which he was president from 1927 to 1930. He was also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the National Academy of Design
, and the New York City Art Commission, among other organizations. He died in Port Chester, New York
, on August 8, 1952.
Despite his objections, Weinman is still best remembered as the designer of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar
(a design now used for the obverse of the American Silver Eagle
one-ounce bullion coin) and the "Mercury" dime along with various medals for the Armed Services of the United States. Among these are the identical reverses of the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
, and the American Campaign Medal
. Weinman was one of many sculptors and artists who employed Audrey Munson
as a model.
As an architectural sculptor, Weinman's work can be found on the Wisconsin
, Missouri
, and Louisiana
state capitol buildings. He became the sculptor of choice for the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White
and designed sculpture for their Manhattan Municipal Building
, Madison Square Presbyterian Church
, Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument
, and Pennsylvania Railway Station
(Penn Station), all in New York City
. A photograph of one of his angels in a landfill in New Jersey is one of the saddest reminders of the destruction of Penn Station in 1966, but two of his eagles were retained as trophies outside the entrance to the new subterranean Penn Station. Elsewhere he created the dramatic frieze on the Elks National Veterans Memorial
in Chicago
and executed sculpture for the Post Office Department Building, the Jefferson Memorial
, and the U.S. Supreme Court, all in Washington, D.C.
Weinman's non-architectural works include the Macomb and the Maybury monuments in Detroit
. Another example of his non-architectural work is his Abraham Lincoln Statue (Kentucky) located in the center of Hodgenville, Kentucky
.
Weinman was one of 250 sculptors who exhibited in the 3rd Sculpture International
held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
in the summer of 1949.
Weinman's works are mostly in a sort of lyrical neoclassical style
. His figures typically are found wearing Greco-Roman clothing, 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 the Greco-Roman style in its attention to anatomy and movement and the nude status of the athlete while the subject, a modern golf
er, provides a modern twist in that it is a unique subject for the style at hand.
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...
, born in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, Germany.
Biography
Weinman arrived in the United States at the age of 10. At the age of 15, he attended evening classes at Cooper UnionCooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
and later studied at the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
with sculptors Augustus St. Gaudens and Philip Martiny
Philip Martiny
Philip H. Martiny was a Franco-American sculptor who worked in the Paris atelier of Eugene Dock, where he became foreman before emigrating to New York in 1878— to avoid conscription in the French army, he later claimed...
. He later served as an assistant to Charles Niehaus, Olin Warner
Olin Levi Warner
Olin Levi Warner was an American sculptor and artist noted for the striking bas relief portrait medallions and busts he created in the late 19th century....
, and Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French
Daniel 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:...
. Weinman opened his own studio in 1904. Although Weinman is now best known as a medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
ist, when he once was introduced as such he vehemently denied being one and said that he was an architectural sculptor
Architectural sculpture
Architectural 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...
. His steadiest income was derived from, the sale of small bronze reductions of his larger works, such as Descending Night, originally commissioned for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915
Weinman was a member of the National Sculpture Society
National Sculpture Society
Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members included several renowned architects. The founding...
, of which he was president from 1927 to 1930. He was also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
, and the New York City Art Commission, among other organizations. He died in Port Chester, New York
Port Chester, New York
Port Chester is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is part of the town of Rye. As of the 2010 census, Port Chester had a population of 28,967...
, on August 8, 1952.
Work
Walking Liberty Half Dollar
The Walking Liberty half dollar was a silver 50-cent piece or half dollar coin issued by the United States Mint from 1916 to 1947; it was designed by Adolph A. Weinman....
(a design now used for the obverse of the American Silver Eagle
American Silver Eagle
The American Silver Eagle is the official silver bullion coin of the United States. It was first released by the United States Mint on November 24, 1986. It is struck only in the one-troy ounce size, which has a nominal face value of one dollar and is guaranteed to contain one troy ounce of 99.9%...
one-ounce bullion coin) and the "Mercury" dime along with various medals for the Armed Services of the United States. Among these are the identical reverses of the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal is a service decoration of the Second World War which was awarded to any member of the United States military who served in the Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945 and was created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was...
, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
, and the American Campaign Medal
American Campaign Medal
The American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
. Weinman was one of many sculptors and artists who employed Audrey Munson
Audrey Munson
Audrey Munson was an American artist's model and film actress, known variously as "Miss Manhattan," "the Exposition Girl," and "American Venus." She was the model or inspiration for more than 15 statues in New York City and appeared in four silent films.-Life and career:Audrey Marie Munson was...
as a model.
As an architectural sculptor, Weinman's work can be found on the Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
state capitol buildings. He became the sculptor of choice for the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead & White was a prominent American architectural firm at the turn of the twentieth century and in the history of American architecture. The firm's founding partners were Charles Follen McKim , William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White...
and designed sculpture for their Manhattan Municipal Building
Manhattan Municipal Building
The Manhattan Municipal Building, at 1 Centre Street in New York City, is a 40-story building built to accommodate increased governmental space demands after the 1898 consolidation of the city's five boroughs. Construction began in 1907 and ended in 1914, marking the end of the City Beautiful...
, Madison Square Presbyterian Church
Madison Square Presbyterian Church, New York City (1906)
Madison Square Presbyterian Church was a Presbyterian church in Manhattan, New York City, located on Madison Square Park at the northeast corner of East 24th Street and Madison Avenue. It was designed by Stanford White in a High Renaissance architectural style, with a prominent central dome over a...
, Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument
Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument
The Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, is a memorial to the more than 11,500 prisoners of war who died in captivity, known as the prison ship martyrs. The remains of a small fraction of all those who died on the ships are in a crypt below...
, and Pennsylvania Railway Station
Pennsylvania Station (New York City)
Pennsylvania Station—commonly known as Penn Station—is the major intercity train station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. It is one of the busiest rail stations in the world, and a hub for inbound and outbound railroad traffic in New York City. The New York City Subway system also...
(Penn Station), all in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. A photograph of one of his angels in a landfill in New Jersey is one of the saddest reminders of the destruction of Penn Station in 1966, but two of his eagles were retained as trophies outside the entrance to the new subterranean Penn Station. Elsewhere he created the dramatic frieze on the Elks National Veterans Memorial
Elks National Veterans Memorial
The Elks National Veterans Memorial is a Beaux Arts-style domed building at 2750 North Lakeview Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The structure was planned by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, who wished to honor members of their order who had served in World War I. They turned to architect...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and executed sculpture for the Post Office Department Building, the Jefferson Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third President of the United States....
, and the U.S. Supreme Court, all in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Weinman's non-architectural works include the Macomb and the Maybury monuments in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. Another example of his non-architectural work is his Abraham Lincoln Statue (Kentucky) located in the center of Hodgenville, Kentucky
Hodgenville, Kentucky
Hodgenville is a city in and the county seat of LaRue County, Kentucky, United States. It sits along the North Fork of the Nolin River. The population was 2,874 at the 2000 census...
.
Weinman was one of 250 sculptors who exhibited in the 3rd Sculpture International
3rd Sculpture International
3rd Sculpture International was an exhibition of sculpture that included works from 250 sculptors from around the world. It was "organized by the Fairmount Park Art Association under the terms of a bequest made to the Association by the late Ellen Phillips Samuel." It was held at the Philadelphia...
held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
in the summer of 1949.
Weinman's works are mostly in a sort of lyrical neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
. His figures typically are found wearing Greco-Roman clothing, but there is a fluidity found in his work that is a harbinger of the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style that was to follow him. His bronze statuette The Nude Golfer epitomizes this style. This work evokes the Greco-Roman style in its attention to anatomy and movement and the nude status of the athlete while the subject, a modern golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er, provides a modern twist in that it is a unique subject for the style at hand.