George Grey Barnard

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George Grey Barnard (May 24, 1863 – April 24, 1938), often written George Gray Barnard, was an American sculptor who trained in Paris. He is especially noted for his heroic sized Struggle of the Two Natures in Man at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, his twin sculpture groups at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, and his Lincoln statue in Cincinnati, Ohio. His major works are largely symbolical in character.<ref>Template:Cite Americana</ref> His personal collection of medieval architectural fragments became a core part of The Cloisters in New York City.

BiographyEdit

Barnard was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Kankakee, Illinois, the son of the Reverend Joseph Barnard and Martha Grubb; the grandson and namesake of merchant George Grey Grubb; and a great-grandson of Curtis Grubb, a fourth-generation member of the Grubb iron family and a onetime owner of the celebrated Gray's Ferry Tavern outside Philadelphia.

Barnard first studied at the Art Institute of Chicago under Leonard Volk.<ref name="MMA">"George Grey Barnard (1863–1938)," in Lauretta Dimmick and Donna J. Hassler. American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: A catalogue of works by artists born before 1865. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. pp. 421–27.[1]</ref> The prize he was awarded for a marble bust of a Young Girl enabled him to go to Paris,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> where, over a period of three and half years, he attended the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1883–1887), while also working in the atelier of Pierre-Jules Cavelier. He lived in Paris for twelve years, and scored a great success with his first exhibit at the Salon of 1894. He returned to America in 1896, and married Edna Monroe of Boston. He taught at the Art Students League of New York from 1900 to 1903, succeeding Augustus Saint-Gaudens.<ref name="MMA" /> He returned to France, and spent the next eight years working on his sculpture groups for the Pennsylvania State Capitol.<ref name="MMA" /> He was elected an associate member of the National Academy of Design in 189x, and an academician in 1902.

File:George Grey Barnard and Clare Frewen Sheridan.jpg

Barnard and Clare Sheridan touring his cloister in New York City, 1921.

A strong Rodin influence is evident in his early work. His principal works include the allegorical Struggle of the Two Natures in Man" (1894, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York); The Hewer (1902, at Cairo, Illinois); The Great God Pan (1899, at Columbia University); the Rose Maiden (Template:Circa1902, at Muscatine, Iowa); the simple and graceful Maidenhood (1896, at Brookgreen Gardens).

The Great God Pan (1899), one of the first works Barnard completed after his return to America, was originally intended for the Dakota Apartments on Central Park West. Alfred Corning Clark, builder of the Dakota, had financed Barnard's early career; when Clark died in 1896, the Clark family presented Barnard's Two Natures to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in his memory, and the giant bronze Pan was presented to Columbia University, by Clark's son, Edward Severin Clark.

In 1911 he completed two large sculpture groups for the new Pennsylvania State Capitol: The Burden of Life: The Broken Law and Love and Labor: The Unbroken Law. Between the two groups, they feature 27 larger-than-life figures.

His larger-than-life statue of Abraham Lincoln (1917) drew heated controversy because of its rough-hewn features and slouching stance. The first casting is at Lytle Park in Cincinnati, Ohio; the second in Manchester, England (1919); and the third in Louisville, Kentucky (1922).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>

French art dealer René Gimpel described him in his diary (1923), as "an excellent American sculptor" who is "very much engrossed in carving himself a fortune out of the trade in works of art."<ref>Gimpel, Diary of an Art Dealer (John Rosenberg, tr.) 1966:211.</ref> Barnard had a commanding personal manner: "He talks of art as if it were a cabalistic science of which he is the only astrologer", wrote the unsympathetic Gimpel; "he speaks to impress. He's a sort of Rasputin of criticism. The Rockefellers are his imperial family. And the dealers court him."<ref>Gimpel, Diary 15 January 1923.</ref>

Interested in medieval art, Barnard gathered discarded fragments of medieval architecture from French villages before World War I.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He established this collection in a church-like brick building near his home in Washington Heights, Manhattan in New York City. The collection was purchased by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1925 and forms part of the nucleus of The Cloisters collection, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At least one object, sold to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1924, he offered with misleading provenance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Barnard died following a heart attack on April 24, 1938, at the Harkness Pavilion, Columbia University Medical Center in New York. He was working on a statue of Abel, betrayed by his brother Cain, when he fell ill. He is interred at Harrisburg Cemetery in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

1913 Assessment by Lorado TaftEdit

File:Struggle of the Two Natures in Man 01.jpg

Struggle of the Two Natures in Man (marble, 1892–1894), Metropolitan Museum of Art.

George Grey Barnard is a Westerner, although he chanced to be born in Pennsylvania, where his parents were temporarily residing in 1863. The sculptor's father is a clergyman, and the fortunes of the ministry afterward led him to Chicago, and thence to Muscatine, Iowa, where the son passed his boyhood. One cannot doubt that these circumstances had their profound influence upon the character of the young artist. In it is something of the largeness of the western prairies, something of the audacity of a life without tradition or precedent, a burning intensity of enthusiasm; above all, a strong element of mysticism which permeates all that Barnard does or thinks.
The stories of his student struggles in Chicago and Paris are familiar. The first result of all this self sacrifice became tangible in that early group, a tombstone for Norway, in which the youth portrayed "Brotherly Love," a work of "weird and indescribable charm."
In 1894 Barnard completed his celebrated group, Two Natures, upon which he had toiled, in clay and marble, for several years. This achievement gave him at once high standing in Europe, and his work has been of interest to the cultivated public of the world's capitals. Then followed an extraordinary Norwegian Stove, a monumental affair illustrative of Scandinavian mythology; and Maidenhood and the Hewer.
The great work of Barnard's recent years has been the decoration of the Pennsylvania capitol. It has been said of him that he was "the only one connected with that building who was not smirched"; but his part is a story of heroism and triumph. The writer has not yet seen the enormous groups in place, but is familiar with fragments that have won the enthusiastic praise of the best sculptors of Paris. They are inspiring conceptions which point the way to still mightier achievements in American sculpture.<ref>Lorado Taft, "Famous American Sculptors," The Mentor (magazine), vol. 1, no. 36, (October 20, 1913).</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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Selected worksEdit

File:Barnard Prodigal Son Clemen p.20.jpg

The Prodigal Son (1904), Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky

File:Collier's 1921 Lincoln Abraham - Barnard statue.jpg

Statue of Abraham Lincoln (bronze, 1917), Lytle Park, Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Boy (marble, 1885), private collection
Cain (1886, destroyed)
Brotherly Love (Two Friends) (marble, 1886–87), Langesund, Norway.
- Brotherly Love (bronze, 1886–87), Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts.<ref>Brotherly Love, from Clark Art Institute.</ref>
- Brotherly Love (marble, 1894), Edward Severin Clark monument, Lakewood Cemetery, Cooperstown, New York.<ref>Brotherly Love, from SIRIS.</ref>
Struggle of the Two Natures in Man (marble, 1892–1894), Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Maidenhood (Innocence) (1896), Brookgreen Gardens, Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina. Evelyn Nesbitt posed as the model.<ref>Paula Uruburu, American Eve:Evelyn Nesbitt, Stanford White, the Birth of the It Girl and the Crime of the Century, (Riverhead Books, 2009), p. 139.</ref>
Maiden with the Roses (Rose Maiden) (marble, 1898), Greenwood Cemetery, Muscatine, Iowa
Urn of Life (1898–1900), Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.<ref>The Urn of Life, from SIRIS.</ref> Created to hold the ashes of Metropolitan Opera conductor Anton Seidl.<ref>Michael Belman, "Restoring the Urn of Life," Template:Webarchive from Carnegie Museum of Art.</ref>
- The Mystery of Life (marble, 1895–1897), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show.<ref name="Armory"/>
- The Birth (marble, 1895–1897). Exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show.<ref name="Armory">Gallery A, No. 1000 – Catalogue of International Exhibition of Modern Art, Association of American Painters and Sculptors, Armory Show, New York. Published 1913</ref>
- Solitude (Adam and Eve) (marble, Template:Circa1906). Exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show.<ref name="Armory"/> Marble versions are at the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati, Ohio;<ref>Solitude (Taft Museum), from SIRIS.</ref> the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia;<ref>Solitude (Chrysler Museum), from SIRIS.</ref> and the Loeb Art Center in Poughkeepsie, New York.<ref>Solitude (Loeb Art Center), from SIRIS.</ref>
The Great God Pan (1899), Dodge Hall Quadrangle, Columbia University, New York City. Exhibited at 1900 Paris Exposition,<ref>Noyes, Platt, Official Illustrated Catalogue, Fine Arts Exhibit, United States of America, Paris Exposition, 1900, (U.S. Commission to the Paris Exposition, 1900), p. 94.</ref> and the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
Transportation – Henry Bradley Plant Fountain (1900), University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida
The Hewer (1902), Halliday Park, Cairo, Illinois, dedicated 1906. Exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.<ref>The World's Work, 1902–03: Barnard at work on The Hewer</ref>
- A plaster version is at Schwab Auditorium, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.<ref name="PSU"/>
- A marble version is at Kykuit, Pocantico Hills, New York.
Architectural sculpture (1902–03), New Amsterdam Theatre, 214 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, New York City. Barnard's façade and roof garden sculptures were removed in 1937, and are unlocated.<ref>Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, The Landmarks of New York, Fifth Edition: An Illustrated Record of the City's Historic Buildings (SUNY Press, 2011), p.420.</ref>
The Prodigal Son (1904). One of the sculptures for Love and Labor: The Unbroken Law, at the Pennsylvania State Capitol.
- The Prodigal Son (marble, 1904–1906), Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.<ref>The Prodigal Son, from Carnegie Museum of Art.</ref> Exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show.<ref name="Armory"/>
- The Prodigal Son (marble, 1904), Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky.<ref>The Prodigal Son, from SIRIS.</ref>
2 pedimental sculpture groups: History; The Arts (1913–1917), Main Branch, New York Public Library, Manhattan
Rising Woman (marble, Template:Circa1916), Kykuit, Pocantico Hills, New York.
- A plaster version is at Schwab Auditorium, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.<ref name="PSU">Claudia Cook, "Case of the Unknown Sculptures," Daily Collegian (Penn State University), November 12, 1982.[2]</ref>
Statue of Abraham Lincoln (bronze, 1917), Lytle Park, Cincinnati, Ohio.
- Abraham Lincoln (bronze, 1919 casting), Lincoln Square, Manchester, England
- Abraham Lincoln (bronze, 1922 casting), Louisville, Kentucky.
Head of Abraham Lincoln (marble, 1919), Metropolitan Museum of Art.<ref>Head of Abraham Lincoln, from Metropolitan Museum of Art.</ref>
Let There Be Light (bronze, Template:Circa1922), Isaac Wolfe Bernheim monument, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Clermont, Kentucky.
- A 1928 marble replica marks the grave of Barnard's parents at Springdale Cemetery, Madison, Indiana.<ref>Immortality, from SIRIS.</ref>
- A 1936 marble replica is at the entrance to Scripps Park, Rushville, Illinois.<ref>Let There Be Light, from Waymarking.</ref>
Adam and Eve Fountain (1923) Kykuit, Pocantico Hills, New York.
The Refugee (Grief) (marble, by 1930), Metropolitan Museum of Art.<ref>The Refugee, from Metropolitan Museum of Art.</ref>

GalleryEdit

Langesund Kirke (gravmæle).JPG

Brotherly Love (1886–87), Langesund, Norway.
George Grey Barnard - Madchenstatue.jpg

Maidenhood (1896), Brookgreen Gardens.
Urn of Life World's Work 1909 p.11260.jpg

Urn of Life (1898-1900), Carnegie Museum of Art.
Barnard Great God Pan Bain01493 rotated & cropped.jpg

The Great God Pan (1899), Columbia University, New York City
Henry Bradley Plant Water Fountain.JPG

Transportation - Henry Bradley Plant Fountain (1900), Tampa, Florida.
George Grey Barnard ar work.jpg

Barnard at work on The Hewer (Template:Circa1902).
WLA taft Solitude Adam and Eve.jpg

Solitude (Adam and Eve) (1906), Taft Museum of Art.
George Grey Barnard, The Birth, marble, exhibited at the Armory Show, 1913.jpg

The Birth (1913).
Abraham lincoln manchester england.jpg

Abraham Lincoln (1919), Manchester, England.
IMG 33432Bernheim.jpg

Let There Be Light (Template:Circa1922), Clermont, Kentucky.

Pennsylvania State Capitol sculpture groupsEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} North group: Love and Labor: The Unbroken Law (marble, 1911), Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg.<ref>Love and Labor: The Unbroken Law, from SIRIS.</ref> Template:Multiple image

South group: The Burden of Life: The Broken Law (marble, 1911), Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg.<ref>The Burden of Life: The Broken Law, from SIRIS.</ref> Template:Multiple image

LegacyEdit

Among Barnard's students were Anna Hyatt Huntington, Abastenia St. Leger Eberle, Beatrice Ashley Chanler and Malvina Hoffman.<ref>Joan A. Marter, ed., "George Grey Barnard," The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, Volume 1, (Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 202–04.</ref>
Barnard donated 100 of his plaster models to the Kankakee County Museum in Kankakee, Illinois.<ref>Don Ward, "Sculptor Barnard left a controversial legacy," Round About Madison (Madison, Indiana), February 2012.</ref>Template:Efn
A collection of his Medieval architectural elements is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The George Grey Barnard Sculpture Garden was created in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania (his birthplace) in 1978.<ref>"Talleyrand Park," from Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association.</ref>