Robert Laurent

Goose Girl, Radio City Music Hall, New York City, circa 1932

Robert Laurent (June 29, 1890 – April 20, 1970) was an American sculptor, known for his sensitive interpretations of the human form.

Laurent was born in Concarneau, Brittany France.[1] There, at the age of 12 his artistic talents were recognized by art connoisseur Hamilton Easter Field who then brought him to the United States when he was twenty-years-old.[2] In 1908 he travelled to Rome with Field and there studied with Maurice Sterne as well as with wood carver Giuseppe Doratori at the British Academy.[3]

Laurent once said "The beauty of alabaster is its transparency. This is what gives it life and vibration."

Laurent served in the First World War, then returned to Brooklyn in 1919.[2] He was a Professor of Fine Arts at Indiana University from 1942 to 1960.[2] He died in Cape Neddick, Maine in 1970.

Laurent's son, John, was a prominent painter in Maine who was known for his landscapes and seascapes.[4]

Artwork

Robert Laurent's Mother and Child on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Description of Robert Laurent's Mother and Child in the Smithsonian American Art Museum

• Madame De Felt-tipped pen and ink on paper. sheet: 16 x 10 5/8 in. (40.7 x 27.1 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum [5]

• Mimi Smithsonian American Art Museum[5]

• Polynesian Smithsonian American Art Museum[5]

• Shipping (one-third scale model of Federal Trade Building Relief). 1937. Plaster, wire, and burlap. 29 1/8 x 24 1/2 x 3 3/8 in. (74.1 x 62.2 x 8.6 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum[5]

• Sleeping Dog, 1920. Crayon and pencil on paper. Sheet: 17 x 22 1/8 in. (43.3 x 56.1 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum[5]

• Two Boys Smithsonian American Art Museum[5]

• Mother and Child, 1924. Depicts his wife and young son on smoothly polished white marble. Alabaster relief in wood frame. 17 1/2 x 11 3/4 x 2 in. (44.5 x 29.9 x 5.2 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Currently on view.[5]


References

  1. ↑ Armstrong, Craven et al, ‘’200 Years of American Sculpture’’, David R. Godine, Publisher in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1976, p 286
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Schwier, Carrie (May 3, 2011). ""The One That Got Away": The History Behind the Showalter Fountain Fish". Indiana University Archives. Office of Archives and Records Management at Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  3. ↑ Proske, Beatrice Gilman, Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture, Brookgreen Gardens, SC, 1943 p413
  4. ↑ http://archive.bangordailynews.com/2005/05/09/prominent-maine-artist-john-laurent-dies-at-83/
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "Smithsonian American Art Museum Collections". Retrieved February 24, 2015.