Lee Lawrie

Lee Lawrie
Born	(1877-10-16)October 16, 1877 Rixdorf,Germany
Died	January 23, 1963(1963-01-23)(aged 85) Easton, Maryland,United States
Nationality	German-American
Alma mater	Yale University
Known for	Sculptor
Notable work	Atlasin collaboration withRene Paul Chambellan
Style	Gothic,Beaux-Arts,Classicism,Art Deco

Lawrie'sAtlasinRockefeller CenteronFifth AvenueinNew York City,oppositeSt. Patrick's Cathedral.

Lee Oscar Lawrie(October 16, 1877 – January 23, 1963) was an Americanarchitectural sculptorand an important figure in the American sculpture scene preceding World War II. Over his long career of more than 300 commissions Lawrie's style evolved through ModernGothic,toBeaux-Arts,Classicism,and, finally, intoModerneorArt Deco.

He created a frieze on theNebraska State Capitolbuilding inLincoln, Nebraska,including a portrayal of the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation. He also created some of the architectural sculpture and his most prominent work, the free-standing bronzeAtlas(installed 1937) atNew York City'sRockefeller Center.

Lawrie's work is associated with some of the United States' most noted buildings of the first half of the twentieth century. His stylistic approach evolved with building styles that ranged from Beaux-Arts to neo-Gothic toArt Deco.Many of his architectural sculptures were completed for buildings byBertram GoodhueofCram & Goodhue,including the chapel atWest Point;theNational Academy of Sciencesin Washington, D.C.; theNebraska State Capitol;theLos Angeles Public Library;St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Churchin New York;Cornell Law Schoolin Ithaca, New York; andRockefeller Chapelat the University of Chicago. He completed numerous pieces inWashington, D.C.,including the bronze doors of theJohn Adams Buildingof theLibrary of Congress,theBasilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conceptionsouth entrance portal, and the interior sculpture of George Washington at theNational Cathedral.

Early work

Reredos of Saint Thomas Church, at Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street in New York City

Lee Lawrie was born inRixdorf,Germany, in 1877 and immigrated to the United States in 1882 as a young child with his family; they settled inChicago.It was there, at the age of 14, that he began working for the sculptorRichard Henry Park.

At the age of 15, in 1892 Lawrie worked as an assistant to many of the sculptors inChicago,for their part in constructing the "White City" for theWorld's Columbian Exposition of 1893.Following the completion of that work, Lawrie went East, where he became an assistant toWilliam Ordway Partridge.During the next decade, he worked with other established sculptors:Augustus Saint-Gaudens,Philip Martiny,Alexander Phimister Proctor,John William Kitsonand others. His work at theLouisiana Purchase Exposition, St Louis, 1904,underKarl Bitter,the foremost architectural sculptor of the time, allowed Lawrie to develop both his skills and his reputation as an architectural sculptor.

Lawrie received a bachelor's degree in fine arts fromYale Universityin 1910. He was an instructor in Yale's School of Fine Arts from 1908 to 1919 and taught in the architecture program atHarvard Universityfrom 1910 to 1912.

Collaborations with Cram and Goodhue

Lawrie's collaborations withRalph Adams CramandBertram Goodhuebrought him to the forefront of architectural sculptors in the United States. After the breakup of the Cram, Goodhue firm in 1914, Lawrie continued to work with Goodhue until the architect died in 1924. He next worked with Goodhue's successors.

Lawrie sculpted numerous bas reliefs forEl Fureidis,an estate inMontecito, Californiadesigned by Goodhue. The bas reliefs depict the Arthurian Legends and remain intact at the estate today.

TheNebraska State Capitoland theLos Angeles Public Libraryboth feature extensive sculptural programs integrated with the surface, massing, spatial grammar, and social function of the building. Lawrie's collaborations with Goodhue are arguably the most highly developed example of architectural sculpture in American architectural history.

Lawrie served as a consultant to the 1933-34Century of Progress International Expositionin Chicago. He was a member of theNational Institute of Arts and Letters,theAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters,theNational Academy of Design,and theArchitectural League of New York.Among his many awards was theAIA Gold Medalof theAmerican Institute of Architectsin 1921 and 1927, a medal of honor from the Architectural League of New York in 1931, and an honorary degree from Yale University. He served on theU.S. Commission of Fine Artsin Washington, DC from 1933 to 1937 and again from 1945 to 1950; it oversees federal public works and artwork in the city.

Joseph Kiselewskisculpted this bust of his mentor Lee Lawrie.

A bust of Lawrie was sculpted Joseph Kiselewski. The Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland likely commissionedKiselewskito do the bust. Lawrie was a co-founder of the museum.Kiselewski worked with Lawrie in the early years of his career prior to going to France to study.

Commissions related to Goodhue

Reliefs at the Deborah Cook Sayles Public Library

Lawrie's work atRockefeller Chapel,University of Chicago,circa 1929

• Marble reliefs above the windows of theDeborah Cook Sayles Public Library,Pawtucket, Rhode Island,1902 (Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson)
• Chapel at West Point,West Point, New York(Cram and Goodhue)
• Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, New York City (Cram and Goodhue)
• Pulpit and Lectern and Apse carvings atSt. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church,(Cram and Goodhue)
• ReredosatSaint Thomas Churchon Fifth Avenue in New York City (Cram and Goodhue)
• Reredos atSt. John's Episcopal Church (West Hartford, Connecticut)(Goodhue)
• Reredos panel atSt. Mary's-in-Tuxedo Episcopal Church,Tuxedo Park, New York(Goodhue)
• Nebraska State Capitol,Lincoln, Nebraska(Goodhue)
• Los Angeles Public Library,Los Angeles, California(Goodhue)
• Trinity English Lutheran Church,Fort Wayne, Indiana(Goodhue)
• National Academy of SciencesBuilding inWashington, D.C.(Goodhue)
• Rockefeller Chapel,University of Chicago,Chicago, Illinois(Goodhue)
• Christ Church Cranbrook,inBloomfield Hills, Michigan(Goodhue)
• Church of the Heavenly Rest,New York City (Mayers Murray & Phillip)

Commissions after Goodhue's death

Rockefeller Center

Wisdom,30 Rockefeller Plaza

After Goodhue's death, Lawrie produced important and highly visible work underRaymond HoodatRockefeller Centerin New York City, which included theAtlasin collaboration withRene Paul Chambellan.By November 1931 Hood said, "There has been entirely too much talk about the collaboration of architect, painter and sculptor." He relegated Lawrie to the role of a decorator.

Lawrie's most noted work is not architectural: it is the freestanding statue ofAtlas,on Fifth Avenue at Rockefeller Center, standing a total 45 feet tall, with a 15-foot human figure supporting anarmillary sphere.At its unveiling, some critics were reminded ofBenito Mussolini,whileJames Montgomery Flaggsuggested that it looked as Mussolinithoughthe looked.The international character ofStreamline Moderne,embraced byFascismas well as corporate democracy, lost favor during the Second World War.

Featured above the entrance to 30 Rockefeller Plaza and axially behind the golden Prometheus, Lawrie'sWisdomis one of the most visible works of art in the complex. An Art Deco piece, it echoes the statements of power shown inAtlasandPaul Manship'sPrometheus.

Other commissions

• Allegorical relief panels calledCourage, Patriotism and Wisdomover the entry doors toUnited States Senatechamber (done as part of the 1950 Federal-period remodeling of the Senate),Washington, D.C.
• Education Building (a.k.a. Forum Building) inHarrisburg, Pennsylvania
• Louisiana State CapitolinBaton Rouge, Louisiana
• Peace Memorial atGettysburg, Pennsylvania
• Sculptural elements of the Fidelity Mutual Life Building inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania(nowPerelman Buildingof thePhiladelphia Museum of Art,including the owl of wisdom, the dog of fidelity, the pelican of charity, the possum of protection, and the squirrel of frugality), architectsZantzinger, Borie and Medary
• Statue of George Washington, National Cathedral,Washington, D.C.
• Friezes for the Ramsey County Courthouse inSaint Paul, Minnesota
• Whatsoever a Man Soweth,fifth issue of the long runningSociety of Medalists.
• Two Egyptian bas-reliefs for the 1924Hale Solar LaboratoryinPasadena, California
• National Shrine of the Immaculate Conceptionand the bronze doors of the John Adams Building at theLibrary of CongressAnnex, both in Washington, D.C.
• Harkness Memorial ToweratYale University,New Haven, Connecticut
• Sterling Memorial Libraryat Yale University
• Beaumont ToweratMichigan State UniversityinEast Lansing, Michigan
• Kirk in the HillsPresbyterian inBloomfield Hills, Michigan
• Bok Singing Towerin Mountain Lake,Florida,architects Zantzinger, Borie and Medary
• Designed sculptures for theBrittany American Cemetery and MemorialinBrittany, France,executed by Jean Juge of Paris and the French sculptor, Augustine Beggi.
• Hubbard Bell Grossman Pillot Memorialgravestone.
• World War I Memorial Flagstaff,Pasadena, California
• Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Bridge,Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,1930

In popular culture

HisAtlaswas featured on the cover ofThe New Yorkermagazine for December 20 and 27, 2010.

Gallery

• Works by Lawrie
• 
  George Washington statue - National Cathedral, Washington, DC
• 
  Hubbard Bell Grossman Pillot Memorial, Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, DC
• 
  Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Bridge,Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, (1930)

• Bronze doors of the John Adams Building
• 
  East doors, Library of CongressJohn Adams Building(1939)
• 
  Sculpted bronze figures ofHermesandItzamna(1939)
• 
  Sculpted bronze figures ofNabuandTahmurath(1939)
• 
  Sculpted bronze figures ofOdinandQuetzalcoatl(1939)
• 
  Sculpted bronze figures ofOgmaandSequoyah(1939)
• 
  Sculpted bronze figures ofCangjie(1939)

See also

• Edward Ardolino,collaborating sculptor
• List of Saltus Award winners

Notes and references

References

• Bok, Edward W.,America's Taj Mahal: The Singing Tower of Florida,The Georgia Marble Company, Tate, Georgia c. 1929.
• Brown, Elinor L.,Architectural Wonder of the World,State of Nebraska, Building Division, Lincoln, Nebraska 1978.
• Fowler, Charles F.,Building a Landmark: The Capitol of Nebraska,Nebraska State Building Division, 1981.
• Garvey, Timothy Joseph,Lee Lawrie: Classicism and American Culture, 1919 - 1954,PhD. Thesis University of Minnesota 1980.
• Gebhard, David,The National Trust Guide to Art Deco in America,John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York 1996.
• Kvaran & Lockley,Guide to Architectural Sculpture of America,unpublished manuscript.
• Lawrie; Lee,Sculpture - 48 Plates With a Foreword by the Sculptor,J.H. Hanson Cleveland, Ohio 1936.
• Luebke, Frederick C. Editor,A Harmony of the Arts: The Nebraska State Capitol,University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska 1990.
• Masters, Magaret Dale,Hartley Burr Alexander—Writer-In-Stone,Margaret Dale Masters 1992.
• Nelson, Paul D.,Courthouse Sculptor: Lee Lawrie,Ramsey County History Quarterly V43 #4, *Ramsey County Historical Society,St Paul, MN, 2009.
• Oliver, Richard,Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue,The Architectural History Foundation, New York & The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1985.
• Whitaker, Charles Harris, Editor, Text by Lee Lawrie et al.Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, Architect-and Master of Many Arts,Press of the American Institute of Architects, Inc., NYC 1925.
• Whitaker, Charles Harris and Hartley Burr Alexander,The Architectural Sculpture of the State Capitol at Lincoln Nebraska,Press of the American Institute of Architects, New York 1926.

External links

• LeeLawrie- Additional Website of Gregory Paul Harm. Features additional Lawrie works recently added by Harm to the Smithsonian Institution's Art Inventory Catalog.
• Lee Lawrie- Stalking Lawrie: America's Machine Age Michelangelo.
• Lee Lawrie page on philart.net- pictures of artistic details on the Perelman building
• Article on Greg Harm's research and discoveries about Lawrie and his work on the Nebraska State Capitol
• Lawrie collection in process.Held by the Department of Drawings & Archives,Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.