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American sculptor (1881?1956)
Chester Beach
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Born
| (
1881-05-23
)
May 23, 1881
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Died
| August 6, 1956
(1956-08-06)
(aged 75)
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Chester A. Beach
(May 23, 1881 ? August 6, 1956) was an American
sculptor
who was known for his
busts
and
medallic art
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Beach was born in
San Francisco, California
. He studied initially at the
California School of Mechanical Arts
and worked as a
jewelry designer
immediately afterward, while continuing his art studies at the
Mark Hopkins Institute of Art
. In 1903 he moved to
New York City
and in May 1904, he moved to
Paris
to study at the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts
as well as under the tutelage of
Raoul Verlet
at the
Academie Julian
.
[1]
Career
[
edit
]
He returned to the U.S. in 1907 and quickly gained a following for his representations of allegorical and mythical figures.
[2]
That year, he established his studio in
Manhattan
, which he maintained for the next forty-five years.
[1]
He was soon elected to the
National Sculpture Society
, the
Salmagundi Club
and the
American Numismatic Society
. When he was selected to join the
National Academy of Design
, he was the youngest member at the time.
[3]
He was also later selected for the
National Institute of Arts and Letters
.
In 1910, Beach married Eleanor Hollis Murdock, whom he had met while in France. The couple settled in
Rome
for two years, returning to the U.S. in 1912 with their first daughter Beata (later a painter married to
Vernon Porter
). Daughters
Eleanor
and Natalie were born in America. His first major commission came in 1915, when he designed three statues for the
Panama-Pacific International Exposition
, for which he received a silver medal. His 1919 submission for a medal commemorating the
Treaty of Versailles
was selected as the winner by the American Numismatic Society.
[4]
He engraved the
Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar
, which was designed by
Juliette May Fraser
and issued in 1928,
[5]
and designed the 1935 commemorative
Hudson Sesquicentennial half dollar
. His best-known busts are found in the
New York University
Hall of Fame.
[2]
His work was also part of the
sculpture event
in the
art competition
at the
1928 Summer Olympics
.
[6]
A prolific worker, Beach exhibited works yearly without fail at the National Academy of Design winter and annual exhibitions from 1907 to 1926. He was president of the National Sculpture Society from 1926 to 1927 and also taught at the
Beaux-Arts Institute of Design
and the
Grand Central School of Art
. He received the Numismatic Society's
Saltus Medal
in 1946 for his medallic work. In 1917 Beach built a studio in Brewster, New York on 10 acres (40,000 m
2
) of land he acquired in trade from a local farmer for two sculptures. A year later he built a home for his family of stone from the old stone walls on the property. This became known as "Old Walls". He built an additional cottage on the property in 1947 known as "The Camp". Beach died on August 6, 1956, in
Brewster, New York
.
[1]
Gallery of works
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Chester Beach, a Sculptor, 75".
The New York Times
. August 8, 1956.
- ^
a
b
Dearinger, David Bernard (2004).
Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design
. Hudson Hills. pp. 29?30.
ISBN
1-55595-029-9
.
- ^
"ACTORS' MEDAL FOR TAFT"
.
The New York Times
. January 18, 1910.
- ^
"WINS PEACE MEDAL PRIZE.; Chester Beach's Design Is Accepted by Numismatic Society"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. June 30, 1919
. Retrieved
November 19,
2008
.
- ^
Yeoman, R. S.,
Guidebook of United States Coins, 35th revised Ed.
, Whitman Publishing Company, Florence, AL, 1982, p. 203
- ^
"Chester Beach"
.
Olympedia
. Retrieved
July 29,
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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