Daniel Chester French

Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor. He was a neighbor and friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the Alcott family. His decision to pursue sculpting was influenced by Louisa May Alcott's sister May Alcott.

Related Topics:
April 20 - 1850 - October 7 - 1931 - American - Sculptor - Ralph Waldo Emerson - Louisa May Alcott - May Alcott

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He was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, the son of Henry Flagg French, a lawyer, who for a time was assistant-secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury.

Related Topics:
Exeter - New Hampshire - United States Department of the Treasury

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After a year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, French worked on his father's farm. While visiting relatives in Brooklyn, New York, he spent a month in the studio of John Q. A. Ward, then began to work on commissions, and at the age of twenty-three received from the town of Concord, Massachusetts, an order for his well-known statue The Minute Man, which was unveiled April 19, 1875 on the centennial anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord.

Related Topics:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Brooklyn - New York - John Q. A. Ward - Concord - Massachusetts - April 19 - 1875 - Battle of Lexington and Concord

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Previously French had gone to Florence in Italy, where he spent a year working with sculptor Thomas Ball.

Related Topics:
Florence - Italy - Thomas Ball

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French's best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

Related Topics:
Abraham Lincoln - Lincoln Memorial - Washington, DC

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In collaboration with Edward Clark Potter he modelled the George Washington, presented to France by the Daughters of the American Revolution; the General Grant in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, and the General Joseph Hooker in Boston.

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French became a member of the National Academy of Design (1901), the National Sculpture Society, the Architectural League, and the Accademia di San Luca, of Rome. French was one of many sculptors who frequently employed Audrey Munson as a model.

Related Topics:
National Academy of Design - National Sculpture Society - Architectural League - Accademia di San Luca - Rome - Audrey Munson

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In 1940, French was selected as one of five artists to be honored in a series of postage stamps dedicated to great Americans.

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French is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts.

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