Public sculptures by Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French (1850–1931) was an American sculptor who was active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. French was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, to Anne Richardson French and Henry Flagg French on April 20, 1850.[1] His father, a polymath, was a judge, college president, and popularized the French drain. In 1867, the family moved to Concord, Massachusetts, and French enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1] French did not perform well academically and, after a year, he left the college and returned to Concord where he first learned sculpture while attending art classes with Louisa May Alcott.[2] Between 1869 and 1872, French studied anatomy with William Rimmer, and in 1870 he did a one-month apprenticeship with John Quincy Adams Ward.[3] After completing The Minute Man in 1875, French studied sculpture in Florence, partly out of Thomas Ball's studio, for a year.[4]

French's education ended and career began in 1876 when French accepted a contract to produce a set of statues for the United States Post Office Department.[5] He would continue to produce statues for the Post Office throughout the 1880s. In 1883, French was commissioned to create his first post-education statue for a private group, John Harvard.[6] For the rest of his career, French would produce commissions for state, federal, and private groups. In 1896, French moved his studio to Chesterwood, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where it would remain until his death.[7] In 1912, French was appointed as chair of the United States Commission of Fine Arts.[8] He continued to be on the commission until 1915, when he resigned to accept his most famous commission, Abraham Lincoln, which sits in the Lincoln Memorial.[9] On October 7, 1931, French died in his sleep.[10] His final work, the Daniel Webster Memorial, was completed by his daughter Margaret French Cresson.
French was a prolific sculptor, creating 92 public sculptures from 1871 until his death in 1931. French's sculptures are mostly in the eastern and midwestern United States, but one, Thomas Star King, is in San Francisco, and two, General George Washington and the Marseillaise Memorial, are in France. The majority of the sculptures are bronze castings or made of stone, but Progress of the State is gilded copper and Alma Mater[lower-alpha 1] and The Republic are gilded bronze. Nearly all of French's works are solo, but eight, Ulysses S. Grant, General George Washington (Paris), Joseph Hooker, General George Washington (Chicago), General Charles Devens, Indian Corn, Wheat, and Progress of the State, were the result of a collaboration with Edward Clark Potter, General Philip H. Sheridan was a completion of an unfinished statue by John Quincy Adams Ward, and the Daniel Webster Memorial was completed by Margaret French Cresson after French's death.
Public sculpture
Name | Photo | Location | City or neighborhood | Year(s)[lower-alpha 2] | Material | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Minute Man | ![]() |
Minute Man National Historical Park 42.4689°N 71.3512°W |
Concord, Massachusetts | 1871–1875 | Bronze | [11] | |
Law, Prosperity, and Power | ![]() |
Fairmount Park 39.9844°N 75.2233°W |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1878–1882 | Marble | Created for the United States Post Office in Philadelphia and moved to its current location in 1937 | [12] |
Peace and Vigilance | United States Customhouse and Post Office 38.6288°N 90.1927°W |
St. Louis, Missouri | 1878–1882 | Marble | [11] | ||
John Harvard | ![]() |
Harvard Yard 42.3744°N 71.1171°W |
Cambridge, Massachusetts | 1883–1884 | Bronze | [11] | |
Science Controlling the Forces of Electricity and Steam | Franklin Park Zoo 42.3074°N 71.0918°W |
Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts | 1880–1885 | Marble | Created for the United States Post Office and Sub-Treasury Building in Boston and moved to its current location in 1930 | [11] | |
Labor Sustaining Art and the Family | Franklin Park Zoo 42.3075°N 71.0916°W |
Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts | 1882–1885 | Marble | Created for the United States Post Office and Sub-Treasury Building in Boston and moved to its current location in 1930 | [11] | |
Thomas Gallaudet Memorial | ![]() |
Gallaudet University 38.9055°N 76.9952°W |
NoMa, Washington, District of Columbia | 1885–1889 | Bronze | [12] | |
Death and the Sculptor | ![]() |
Forest Hills Cemetery 42.2978°N 71.1075°W |
Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts | 1889–1893 | Bronze | Also called the Milmore Memorial and The Angel of Death and the Young Sculptor | [11] |
Thomas Star King | ![]() |
Golden Gate Park 37.7722°N 122.4662°W |
San Francisco, California | 1888–1892 | Bronze | [13] | |
John Boyle O'Reilly Memorial | ![]() |
The Fenway 42.3462°N 71.0911°W |
Fenway–Kenmore, Boston, Massachusetts | 1889–1893 | Bronze | Also called Erin and Her Sons, Patriotism, and Poetry | [11] |
Chapman Memorial | ![]() |
Forest Home Cemetery 42.9995°N 87.9431°W |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1896–1897 | Bronze | Also called the T.A. Chapman Memorial and the Alice G. Chapman Memorial | [12] |
George Robert White Memorial | Forest Hills Cemetery[lower-alpha 3] | Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts | 1898 | Bronze | Also called the Angel of Peace | [11] | |
University Club Seals | ![]() |
University Club of New York 40.7613°N 73.9756°W |
Manhattan, New York, New York | 1898 | Stone | Seals of Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Brown University, Williams College, Amherst College, Hamilton College, United States Military Academy, and United States Naval Academy | [14] |
General George Meade | Smith Memorial Arch 39.977489°N 75.206726°W |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1898 | Bronze | [12] | ||
Ulysses S. Grant | ![]() |
Fairmount Park 39.980796°N 75.197909°W |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1892–1899 | Bronze | Created with Edward Clark Potter | [12] |
General George Washington | ![]() |
Place d'Iéna 48.864724°N 2.293909°E |
16th arrondissement of Paris | 1896–1900 | Bronze | Created with Edward Clark Potter | [12] |
Justice | ![]() |
Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, First Judicial Department 40.742085°N 73.986652°W |
Manhattan, New York, New York | 1900 | Marble | [14] | |
Governor John S. Pillsbury | University of Minnesota 44.978229°N 93.236947°W |
Minneapolis, Minnesota | 1900 | Bronze | [11] | ||
Wisdom | Minnesota State Capitol 44.954813°N 93.102253°W |
Saint Paul, Minnesota | 1896–1901 | Marble | [11] | ||
Courage | Minnesota State Capitol 44.954813°N 93.102253°W |
Saint Paul, Minnesota | 1896–1901 | Marble | [11] | ||
Bounty | Minnesota State Capitol 44.954813°N 93.102253°W |
Saint Paul, Minnesota | 1896–1901 | Marble | [11] | ||
Truth | Minnesota State Capitol 44.954813°N 93.102253°W |
Saint Paul, Minnesota | 1896–1901 | Marble | [11] | ||
Integrity | Minnesota State Capitol 44.954813°N 93.102253°W |
Saint Paul, Minnesota | 1896–1901 | Marble | [11] | ||
Prudence | Minnesota State Capitol 44.954813°N 93.102253°W |
Saint Paul, Minnesota | 1896–1901 | Marble | [11] | ||
Richard Morris Hunt Memorial | ![]() |
Central Park 40.7715°N 73.9679°W |
Manhattan, New York, New York | 1896–1901 | Bronze | [14] | |
Commodore George Hamilton Perkins Memorial | ![]() |
New Hampshire State House 43.206824°N 71.538531°W |
Concord, New Hampshire | 1899–1902 | Bronze | [14] | |
Alma Mater | ![]() |
Low Memorial Library 40.807833°N 73.962139°W |
Manhattan, New York, New York | 1900–1903 | Gilded bronze | [14] | |
Music and Poetry | Boston Public Library, McKim Building 42.349556°N 71.077432°W |
Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts | 1894–1904 | Bronze | [11] | ||
Knowledge and Wisdom | Boston Public Library, McKim Building 42.349556°N 71.077432°W |
Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts | 1894–1904 | Bronze | [11] | ||
Truth and Romance | Boston Public Library, McKim Building 42.349556°N 71.077432°W |
Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts | 1894–1904 | Bronze | [11] | ||
General Joseph Hooker | ![]() |
Massachusetts State House 42.357694°N 71.064524°W |
Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts | 1898–1904 | Bronze | Created with Edward Clark Potter | [11] |
Colonel James Anderson Memorial | ![]() |
Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny 40.452865°N 80.005963°W |
Allegheny Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1899–1904 | Bronze | [12] | |
General George Washington | ![]() |
Washington Park 41.802483°N 87.616436°W |
Washington Park, Chicago, Illinois | 1903–1904 | Bronze | Created with Edward Clark Potter | [13] |
General Charles Devens | ![]() |
Institutional District 42.271165°N 71.800044°W |
Worcester, Massachusetts | 1902–1906 | Bronze | Created with Edward Clark Potter | [11] |
Francis Parkman Memorial | ![]() |
Olmsted Park 42.317850°N 71.124389°W |
Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts | 1897–1907 | Granite | [11] | |
Asia | ![]() |
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House 40.704167°N 74.013611°W |
Manhattan, New York, New York | 1905–1907 | Marble | Part of a group known as the Four Continents | [14] |
America | ![]() |
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House 40.704167°N 74.013611°W |
Manhattan, New York, New York | 1905–1907 | Marble | Part of a group known as the Four Continents | [14] |
Europe | ![]() |
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House 40.704167°N 74.013611°W |
Manhattan, New York, New York | 1905–1907 | Marble | Part of a group known as the Four Continents | [14] |
Africa | ![]() |
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House 40.704167°N 74.013611°W |
Manhattan, New York, New York | 1905–1907 | Marble | Part of a group known as the Four Continents | [14] |
Progress of the State | ![]() |
Minnesota State Capitol 44.955022°N 93.102227°W |
Saint Paul, Minnesota | 1905–1907 | Gilded copper | Created with Edward Clark Potter | [11] |
Jurisprudence | ![]() |
Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Courthouse 41.500556°N 81.692639°W |
Cleveland, Ohio | 1905–1908 | Marble | [14] | |
Commerce | ![]() |
Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Courthouse 41.500556°N 81.692639°W |
Cleveland, Ohio | 1905–1908 | Marble | [14] | |
Senator George Frisbie Hoar | ![]() |
Worcester City Hall and Common 42.262986°N 71.801991°W |
Worcester, Massachusetts | 1907–1908 | Bronze | [11] | |
Melvin Memorial | ![]() |
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery 42.463598°N 71.343437°W |
Concord, Massachusetts | 1906–1909 | Marble | Also called Mourning Victory | [11] |
August Robert Meyer Memorial | ![]() |
The Paseo 39.101958°N 94.563663°W |
Kansas City, Missouri | 1907–1909 | Bronze | [11] | |
Greek Epic Poetry | Brooklyn Museum 40.671194°N 73.963751°W |
Brooklyn, New York, New York | 1907–1909 | Marble | [14] | ||
Greek Lyric Poetry | Brooklyn Museum 40.671194°N 73.963751°W |
Brooklyn, New York, New York | 1907–1909 | Marble | [14] | ||
Greek Religion | Brooklyn Museum 40.671194°N 73.963751°W |
Brooklyn, New York, New York | 1907–1909 | Marble | [14] | ||
Governor James Edward Oglethorpe | ![]() |
Chippewa Square 32.075779°N 81.093144°W |
Savannah, Georgia | 1907–1910 | Bronze | [13] | |
Samuel Spencer | ![]() |
Peachtree Street 33.787895°N 84.383958°W |
Atlanta, Georgia | 1909–1910 | Bronze | Created for Terminal Station and moved several time before being placed in its current location in 2009 | [13] |
Edward I | Cuyahoga County Courthouse 41.503333°N 81.696944°W |
Cleveland, Ohio | 1910 | Marble | [14] | ||
John Hampden | Cuyahoga County Courthouse 41.503333°N 81.696944°W |
Cleveland, Ohio | 1910 | Marble | [14] | ||
Modern and Ancient History Flanking the Seal of the New Hampshire Historical Society | ![]() |
New Hampshire Historical Society 43.207176°N 71.539480°W |
Concord, New Hampshire | 1909–1911 | Granite | [14] | |
Marshall Field Memorial | ![]() |
Graceland Cemetery 41.960323°N 87.661245°W |
Uptown, Chicago, Illinois | 1908–1912 | Bronze | Also called Memory | [13] |
Kinsley Memorial | Woodlawn Cemetery[lower-alpha 3] | The Bronx, New York, New York | 1908–1912 | Bronze | [14] | ||
Abraham Lincoln | ![]() |
Nebraska State Capitol 40.80806°N 96.70088°W |
Lincoln, Nebraska | 1909–1912 | Bronze | Also called Abraham Lincoln, Standing or Gettysburg Lincoln | [11] |
General William Draper | ![]() |
Draper Memorial Park 42.139264°N 71.521460°W |
Milford, Massachusetts | 1910–1912 | Bronze | [11] | |
Butt–Millet Memorial Fountain | ![]() |
President's Park 38.895269°N 77.037461°W |
Washington, District of Columbia | 1912–1913 | Marble | [12] | |
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Memorial | ![]() |
Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site 42.375270°N 71.127142°W |
Cambridge, Massachusetts | 1908–1914 | Bronze and marble | [11] | |
Rutherfurd B. Stuyvesant Memorial | Tranquility Cemetery[lower-alpha 3] | Allamuchy Township, New Jersey | 1912–1914 | Marble | Also called the Angel of Peace | [14] | |
Indian Corn | ![]() |
Garfield Park 41.886597°N 87.718553°W |
East Garfield Park, Chicago, Illinois | 1914 | Bronze | Part of a group known as The Bulls; created with Edward Clark Potter; cast from c.1893 plaster statues | [13] |
Wheat | Garfield Park 41.886593°N 87.718737°W |
East Garfield Park, Chicago, Illinois | 1914 | Bronze | Part of a group known as The Bulls; created with Edward Clark Potter; cast from c.1893 plaster statues | [13] | |
Wendell Phillips | ![]() |
Boston Public Garden 42.352715°N 71.068334°W |
Boston, Massachusetts | 1913–1915 | Bronze | [11] | |
Sculpture | Saint Louis Art Museum 38.639620°N 90.294401°W |
St Louis, Missouri | 1913–1915 | Marble | [11] | ||
Spencer Trask Memorial | ![]() |
Canfield Casino and Congress Park 43.079028°N 73.785333°W |
Saratoga Springs, New York | 1913–1915 | Bronze | Also known as the Spirit of Life | [14] |
Brooklyn | ![]() |
Brooklyn Museum 40.671194°N 73.963751°W |
Brooklyn, New York, New York | 1913–1916 | Granite | Part of a group known as the Manhattan Bridge group | [14] |
Manhattan | ![]() |
Brooklyn Museum 40.671194°N 73.963751°W |
Brooklyn, New York, New York | 1913–1916 | Granite | Part of a group known as the Manhattan Bridge group | [14] |
Marquis de La Fayette Memorial | ![]() |
Prospect Park 40.664477°N 73.976592°W |
Brooklyn, New York, New York | 1914–1916 | Bronze | [14] | |
General Philip H. Sheridan | ![]() |
New York State Capitol 42.651849°N 73.756102°W |
Albany, New York | 1916 | Bronze | Completed by French after John Quincy Adams Ward's death in 1910 | [14] |
The Republic | ![]() |
Jackson Park 41.779611°N 87.579917°W |
Chicago, Illinois | 1915–1918 | Glided bronze | [13] | |
Jesse Parker Williams Memorial | Westview Cemetery[lower-alpha 3] | Atlanta, Georgia | 1915–1920 | Marble | Also called Spirit of Achievement | [13] | |
Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial | ![]() |
Fairview Cemetery 41.267778°N 95.848611°W |
Council Bluffs, Iowa | 1916–1920 | Bronze | Also called Dream Angel | [13] |
The Marseillaise Memorial | Hôtel de Hanau 48.584639°N 7.750694°E |
Strasbourg, France | 1919–1920 | Bronze | Also called the Claude Rouget de Lisle Memorial | [12] | |
Hazard Memorial | Peace Dale, Rhode Island 41.450395°N 71.495425°W |
South Kingstown, Rhode Island | 1916–1920 | Bronze | Also called Life, Time, and the Weaver | [12] | |
Russell Alger Memorial | ![]() |
Grand Circus Park Historic District 42.33689°N 83.04993°W |
Detroit, Michigan | 1913–1921 | Bronze | [11] | |
Sea | ![]() |
Dupont Circle 38.909238°N 77.041664°W |
Dupont Circle, Washington, District of Columbia | 1917–1921 | Marble | Part of the Dupont Circle Fountain | [12] |
Stars | ![]() |
Dupont Circle 38.909238°N 77.041664°W |
Dupont Circle, Washington, District of Columbia | 1917–1921 | Marble | Part of the Dupont Circle Fountain | [12] |
Wind | ![]() |
Dupont Circle 38.909238°N 77.041664°W |
Dupont Circle, Washington, District of Columbia | 1917–1921 | Marble | Part of the Dupont Circle Fountain | [12] |
Exeter War Memorial | Gale Park 42.977131°N 70.955545°W |
Exeter, New Hampshire | 1920–1921 | Bronze | [14] | ||
Abraham Lincoln | ![]() |
Lincoln Memorial 38.8893°N 77.050122°W |
National Mall, Washington, District of Columbia | 1915–1922 | Marble | [12] | |
Marquis de La Fayette Memorial | ![]() |
Colton Chapel 40.697659°N 75.208936°W |
Easton, Pennsylvania | 1921 | Bronze | [14] | |
Alfred Tredway White Memorial | ![]() |
Brooklyn Botanic Garden[lower-alpha 3] | Brooklyn, New York, New York | 1921–1923 | Bronze | [14] | |
First Division Monument | ![]() |
President's Park 38.8961°N 77.0387°W |
Washington, District of Columbia | 1921–1924 | Bronze | [12] | |
Dean James Woods Green | ![]() |
University of Kansas 38.957724°N 95.244039°W |
Lawrence, Kansas | 1922–1924 | Bronze | [13] | |
George Robert White Memorial | ![]() |
Boston Public Garden 42.355354°N 71.072154°W |
Boston, Massachusetts | 1922–1924 | Bronze | Also called The Spirit of Giving | [11] |
Milton War Memorial | Milton Centre Historic District 42.253989°N 71.079081°W |
Milton, Massachusetts | 1923–1925 | Bronze | Also called In Flanders Fields | [11] | |
Washington Irving Memorial | ![]() |
Sunnyside 41.047778°N 73.861389°W |
Irvington, New York | 1924–1927 | Bronze | [14] | |
William Henry Seward Memorial | Florida, New York 41.333333°N 74.3575°W |
Florida, New York | 1923–1930 | Bronze | [14] | ||
George Westinghouse Memorial | ![]() |
Schenley Park 40.43946°N 79.94271°W |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1926–1930 | Bronze | [12] | |
The Spirit of American Youth | ![]() |
Schenley Park 40.43946°N 79.94271°W |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1926–1930 | Bronze | Part of the George Westinghouse Memorial | [12] |
Ball Brothers Memorial | ![]() |
Ball State University 40.198272°N 85.410278°W |
Muncie, Indiana | 1929–1931 | Bronze | Also called Beneficence | [13] |
Daniel Webster Memorial | Congregational Christian Church 43.441061°N 71.658693°W |
Franklin, New Hampshire | 1931–1932 | Bronze | Completed after French's death in 1931 by Margaret French Cresson | [14] |
References
Notes
- The gilding has come off Alma Mater and Columbia University has opted not to replace it.
- Year or years that French worked on the statue
- The exact coordinates are unknown.
Citations
- Richman 1972, p. 97
- Richman 1972, pp. 97–98
- Richman 1972, pp. 98–99
- Richman 1972, pp. 102–103
- Richman 1972, pp. 103–104
- Richman 1972, p. 105
- Holzer 2019, p. 178
- Holzer 2019, p. 265
- Holzer 2019, p. 267
- Holzer 2019, p. 309
- Holzer 2019, p. 321
- Holzer 2019, p. 323
- Holzer 2019, p. 320
- Holzer 2019, p. 322
Bibliography
- Holzer, Harold (2019). Monument Man: The Life and Art of Daniel Chester French (Kindle ed.). Hudson, NY: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1616897536.
- Richman, Michael (1972). "The Early Public Sculpture of Daniel Chester French". American Art Journal. 4 (2): 97–115. doi:10.2307/1593936. ISSN 0002-7359. JSTOR 1593936.