Adolph Alexander Weinman

Adolph Alexander Weinman (December 11, 1870 – August 8, 1952) was an American sculptor, born in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Biography

He arrived in the United States at age 10 after which he studied at Cooper Union and Art Students League and with sculptors Augustus St. Gaudens and Philip Martiny. He later served as an assistant to Charles Niehaus, Olin Warner and Daniel Chester French. Although Weinman is now best known as a medalist, when he was once introduced as such he vehemently denied being one and said that he was an architectural sculptor. [ [http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article_view.chtml?artid=1932&universeid=313&type=1 The Weinman Legacy– Part 1 - PCGS Library ] ] He died in Port Chester.

Work

Despite his objections he 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. 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, his work can be found on the Wisconsin, Missouri and Louisiana State Capitol Buildings. He became the sculptor of choice for the architects McKim, Mead, and White and designed sculpture for their Municipal Building, Madison Square Presbyterian Church, Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument and Pennsylvania Railway 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. Elsewhere he created the dramatic frieze on the Elks National Shrine in Chicago and executed sculpture of the Post Office Department Building, the Jefferson Memorial and the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C.

His non-architectural works include the Macomb and the Maybury monuments in Detroit, Michigan. Another example of his non-architectural works is his Abraham Lincoln 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 works are mostly in a sort of lyrical classical 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.

Notes

References

*"A Guide to the Architectural Sculpture of America", Kvaran and Lockley, unpublished manuscript

External links

* [http://www.aaa.si.edu/collectionsonline/weinadol Adolph A. Weinman Papers at the Smithsonian archives]
* [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hi/hi_weimanadolphalexander.htm Artist page at the Metropolitan Museum of Art]
* [http://www.encyclomedia.com/adolph_weinman_master_engraver.html Adolph Weinman – Master Engraver]