National Sculpture Society
Encyclopedia
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 architect
s. The founding members included such well known figures of the day as Daniel Chester French
, Augustus St. Gaudens, Richard Morris Hunt
, and Stanford White
as well as sculptors less familiar today, such as Herbert Adams, Paul W. Bartlett, Karl Bitter
, J. Massey Rhind
, and John Quincy Adams Ward
—who served as the first president for the society.
Since its founding in the nineteenth century, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) has remained dedicated to promoting figurative and realistic sculpture. Membership worldwide in 2006 was around 4,000 members, including sculptors, architects, art historians, and conservators. Its headquarters, library, and gallery are located on Park Avenue
in Manhattan
, just north of Grand Central Station. There is an entrance to the building from Lexington Avenue also.
The NSS publishes Sculpture Review
http://www.nationalsculpture.org/nss/publications/sculpt_review.asp on a quarterly basis, which is often referred to as the foremost figurative sculpture magazine in the world. In 2007, both the fiftieth anniversary of the magazine and the seventy-fifth annual exhibition of the society occur.
Past presidents of the society have included John Quincy Adams Ward
, James Earle Fraser, Chester Beach
, Wheeler Williams
, and Leo Friedlander
.
The first woman to gain admission into the NSS was Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson
, in 1895. She was followed a few years later by Enid Yandell
, in 1899 and Abastenia St. Leger Eberle
in 1906. In 1946 Richmond Barthé
was likely the first African-American to be admitted.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members included several renowned architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s. The founding members included such well known figures of the day as 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:...
, Augustus St. Gaudens, Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
, and Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
as well as sculptors less familiar today, such as Herbert Adams, Paul W. Bartlett, Karl Bitter
Karl Bitter
Karl Theodore Francis Bitter was an Austrian-born United States sculptor best known for his architectural sculpture, memorials and residential work.- Life and career :...
, J. Massey Rhind
J. Massey Rhind
John 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...
, and John Quincy Adams Ward
John Quincy Adams Ward
John Quincy Adams Ward was an American sculptor, who is most familiar for his over-lifesize standing statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street.-Early years:...
—who served as the first president for the society.
Since its founding in the nineteenth century, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) has remained dedicated to promoting figurative and realistic sculpture. Membership worldwide in 2006 was around 4,000 members, including sculptors, architects, art historians, and conservators. Its headquarters, library, and gallery are located on Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, just north of Grand Central Station. There is an entrance to the building from Lexington Avenue also.
The NSS publishes Sculpture Review
Sculpture Review
Sculpture Review the official illustrated publication of the National Sculpture Society . It is based in New York City. As with the NSS, it is concerned with figurative sculpture. It features articles about the history of figurative sculpture and sculptors as well as current artists and trends.It...
http://www.nationalsculpture.org/nss/publications/sculpt_review.asp on a quarterly basis, which is often referred to as the foremost figurative sculpture magazine in the world. In 2007, both the fiftieth anniversary of the magazine and the seventy-fifth annual exhibition of the society occur.
Past presidents of the society have included John Quincy Adams Ward
John Quincy Adams Ward
John Quincy Adams Ward was an American sculptor, who is most familiar for his over-lifesize standing statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street.-Early years:...
, James Earle Fraser, Chester Beach
Chester Beach
Chester A. Beach was an American sculptor who was known for his busts and medallic art.-Early life:Beach was born in San Francisco, California. He studied initially at the California School of Mechanical Arts and worked as a jewelry designer immediately afterward, while continuing his art studies...
, Wheeler Williams
Wheeler Williams
Wheeler Williams was an American sculptor, born in Chicago, Illinois.-Life and career:Williams studied sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He attended Yale where he graduated Magna cum Laude in 1919. He received a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard in 1922...
, and Leo Friedlander
Leo Friedlander
Leo Friedlander was an American sculptor who has made several prominent works. Friedlander studied at the Art Students League in New York City, the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Brussels and Paris and the American Academy in Rome...
.
The first woman to gain admission into the NSS was Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson
Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson
Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson , also known as Tho. A. R. Kitson, was an American sculptor.Kitson was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. As a young child she displayed artistic talent, but when her mother attempted to enroll her in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, she was informed that she...
, in 1895. She was followed a few years later by Enid Yandell
Enid Yandell
Enid Yandell was an American sculptor who studied with Auguste Rodin and Frederick William MacMonnies. She was the daughter of Dr. Lunsford Pitts Yandell, Jr. and Louise Elliston Yandell of Louisville, Kentucky. Yandell was a prolific sculptor creating numerous portraits, garden pieces and small...
, in 1899 and Abastenia St. Leger Eberle
Abastenia St. Leger Eberle
Abastenia St. Leger Eberle , was an American sculptor. Her most famous piece The White Slave caused controversy representing child prostitution.-Early life:...
in 1906. In 1946 Richmond Barthé
Richmond Barthé
James Richmond Barthé was an African American sculptor known for his many public works, including the Toussaint L’Ouverture Monument in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and a sculpture of Rose McClendon for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater House.Barthe once said that “all my life I have be interested in...
was likely the first African-American to be admitted.