Lindsay Daen

Lindsay Daen (1923-2001), was a New Zealand sculptor and artist who worked and resided in Puerto Rico. Daen created landmark sculptures in Puerto Rico, Australia and the United States. He was a member of the Royal Art Society in Sydney, whose art work was exhibited worldwide.

Biography

Lindsay Daen was born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1923, and raised in Australia, where he became a Sydney newspaper reporter at age 16.

During World War II he served in the Australian Army. From 1945 to 1948 Daen was trained at the Art School in Sydney and the School of Arts in Adelaide, South Australia, where he concentrated in sculpture. His early sculptures were influenced by the aboriginal drawings and Melanesian carvings exhibited at the Sydney Art Museum. At the age of 25, he was elected into the Royal Art Society in Sydney. In late 1949, Daen, accompanied by his first wife, sailed for the United States, becoming permanent U.S. residents in 1951.

In 1953, Daen moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, and settled into the French quarter. There his career flourished with shows at the New Orleans Art Museum, the Houston Art Museum and the Whitney Art Museum in New York City.

Following the exhibition of his work at the Whitney, he accepted an invitation by the Puerto Rican Government in 1955 to bring the first major show of sculpture to the Island. For the next 40 years, he resided in Old San Juan. He casted primarily in bronze at Codina Art Foundry in Madrid. Major works include La Rogativa (San Juan, Puerto Rico), The Journeyer (Philadelphia, PA, Queen Adelaide (Adelaide South Australia, Jemmy Morril and the Brolgas (Brisbane, Australia). His late works and installations are located in prominent public spaces and include Juan Bobo and the Basket (Plaza Antonia Quiñones), Joven con Pajaros (Parque del Indio), Joven (Plaza Las Nereidas), and The Lovers installed in the main plaza in the town of Isabela, Puerto Rico. During the last 17 years of his life, Daen collaborated and worked with his third wife Laura Ross Daen.

Lindsay Daen died in Sarasota, Florida in 2001.

Major Works

La Rogativa, 1971, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Major public sculptures and monuments include:

*La Rogativa, (1971) bronze sculpture in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico;
*The Journeyer, (1975) bronze sculpture in West Fairmont Park in Philadelphia, commissioned by the U.S. Bicentennial Commission;
*Queen Adelaide, (1980) bronze sculpture in Adelaide, Australia's Town Hall;
*Jemmy Morrill and the Brolgas, (1983) bronze sculpture in Brisbane, Australia's Botanical Gardens; and
*Juan Bobo and the Basket / Juan Bobo y la Canasta, (1998) bronze sculpture and fountain at the Antonia Quiñones Park in the El Condado district of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

References and Sources

* [http://www.lindsaydaen.com Lindsay Daen] Lindsay Daen: The Man and the Sculptures, Compiled by Laura Daen, UPR Press, ISBN: 0-8477-2121-3