Frederick Hart (sculptor)
Encyclopedia
Frederick Elliott Hart was an American
sculptor, best known for his public monuments and works of art in bronze
, marble
, and clear acrylic (a technique he coined as "sculpting with light").
He followed the medieval tradition of apprenticing to a master stone carver and invented and patented an acrylic method of sculpture, which he described as sculpting with light.
Michael Novak, author of Frederick Hart: Changing Tides, wrote in 2004, “The work of Frederick Hart is changing the world of art,” vindicating the artist’s strong belief that with the new century would come changing tides in the style, form, and direction of the arts.
Frederick died in 1999, two days after doctors diagnosed him with lung cancer.
, which include three tympana Ex Nihilo (Out of Nothing), Creation of Day and Creation of Night, and three trumeau figures, St. Peter, St. Paul and Adam carved in Indiana limestone. The
cathedral, located in Washington, D.C.
is the sixth largest Gothic cathedral in the world. The works were commissioned in 1974, and dedicated between 1978 and 1984.
, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, dedicated by President Ronald Reagan
in 1984.
in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building; the bronze bust of Senator Strom Thurmond
, installed in the Strom Thurmond Room of the Capitol Building; and the marble bust of J. Danforth Quayle created for the Senate’s Vice Presidential Bust Collection.
Hart was also commissioned to create the James Earl Carter Presidential Statue in bronze installed at the Georgia State House, Atlanta.
in a private
ceremony at the Vatican in Rome. When it was unveiled Pope John Paul II called this sculpture “a profound theological statement for our day.”
Frederick Hart was articulate in describing the passion and vision that drove him to create such works of beauty. He said, “I believe that art has a moral responsibility, that it must pursue something higher than itself. Art must be a part of life. It must exist in the domain of the common man. It must be an enriching, ennobling, and vital partner in the public pursuit of civilization. It should be a majestic presence in everyday life just as it was in the past.”
, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States Government. The proclamation signed by President George W. Bush on November 17, 2004 states the following: “For his important body of work—including the Washington National Cathedral's Creation Sculptures and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial's Three Soldiers—which heralded a new age for contemporary public art.” This distinction places him in the ranks of the most distinguished American artists of the twentieth century.
In his last years he began to summon to his estate a cadre of like-minded souls, a handful of artists, poets and philosophers, a dedicated little derrire garde (to borrow a term from the composer Stefania de Kenessey) to gird for the battle to take art back from the Modernists. They called themselves the Centerists.
In his lifetime, Hart engaged in the discussions of art’s philosophical and sociological significance. It is not the first case in art history that an artist's work was either controversial or invisible to critics while gaining a place in the art of eons. Harts work rose almost unnoticed to the highest possible longevity and renown, carved in stone on the National Cathedral and standing as national monuments.
In a memorial tribute to the sculptor at the Senate, Reverend Stephen Happel said, "The [National Cathedral] facade sculptures reach out from the center to the edges of day and night and extend themselves into the city and our world. They proselytize; they preach; they evangelize about how the world could be if values of beauty and truth were embraced."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor, best known for his public monuments and works of art in bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
, marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, and clear acrylic (a technique he coined as "sculpting with light").
Biography
American master sculptor Frederick Hart is recognized for creating work that is at once traditional in its adherence to the human figure, radical in its sensuality, and innovative in its materials.He followed the medieval tradition of apprenticing to a master stone carver and invented and patented an acrylic method of sculpture, which he described as sculpting with light.
Michael Novak, author of Frederick Hart: Changing Tides, wrote in 2004, “The work of Frederick Hart is changing the world of art,” vindicating the artist’s strong belief that with the new century would come changing tides in the style, form, and direction of the arts.
Frederick died in 1999, two days after doctors diagnosed him with lung cancer.
Washington National Cathedral
Hart gained international stature for his The Creation Sculptures on the west façade of Washington National CathedralWashington National Cathedral
The Washington National Cathedral, officially named the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. Of neogothic design, it is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world, the second-largest in...
, which include three tympana Ex Nihilo (Out of Nothing), Creation of Day and Creation of Night, and three trumeau figures, St. Peter, St. Paul and Adam carved in Indiana limestone. The
cathedral, located in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
is the sixth largest Gothic cathedral in the world. The works were commissioned in 1974, and dedicated between 1978 and 1984.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
One of the most visited monuments in Washington, D.C. is Hart’s heroic bronze statue The Three SoldiersThe Three Soldiers
The Three Soldiers is a bronze statue, on the Washington, DC National Mall commemorating the Vietnam War. It was created and designed to complement the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, by adding a more traditional component to the Memorial.- Sculpture design and symbolism :This well-known sculpture by U.S...
, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, dedicated by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
in 1984.
Presidential and Senate
Hart is also represented in the U.S. Senate by the heroic marble statue of Senator Richard RussellRichard Russell, Jr.
Richard Brevard Russell, Jr. was a Democratic Party politician from the southeastern state of Georgia. He served as state governor from 1931 to 1933 and United States senator from 1933 to 1971....
in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building; the bronze bust of Senator Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
, installed in the Strom Thurmond Room of the Capitol Building; and the marble bust of J. Danforth Quayle created for the Senate’s Vice Presidential Bust Collection.
Hart was also commissioned to create the James Earl Carter Presidential Statue in bronze installed at the Georgia State House, Atlanta.
Innovation
Hart pioneered the use of clear acrylic resin to create cast figurative sculptures. He patented the process by which one clear acrylic sculpture was embedded within another. In 1997, Hart presented a unique casting of The Cross of the Millennium to Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in a private
ceremony at the Vatican in Rome. When it was unveiled Pope John Paul II called this sculpture “a profound theological statement for our day.”
Frederick Hart was articulate in describing the passion and vision that drove him to create such works of beauty. He said, “I believe that art has a moral responsibility, that it must pursue something higher than itself. Art must be a part of life. It must exist in the domain of the common man. It must be an enriching, ennobling, and vital partner in the public pursuit of civilization. It should be a majestic presence in everyday life just as it was in the past.”
Honors
Hart was awarded the National Medal of ArtsNational Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States Government. The proclamation signed by President George W. Bush on November 17, 2004 states the following: “For his important body of work—including the Washington National Cathedral's Creation Sculptures and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial's Three Soldiers—which heralded a new age for contemporary public art.” This distinction places him in the ranks of the most distinguished American artists of the twentieth century.
Classic traditions - Centerists
Hart's work uniquely contrasted in the late 20th century art world dominated by Modernist and Post-Modernist art movements. He championed the realistic representation of the human form, and believed in a more traditionally defined moral responsibility of the artist. His works were highly imitative of classic art traditions, but he worked in new medium materials made possible by modern technology.In his last years he began to summon to his estate a cadre of like-minded souls, a handful of artists, poets and philosophers, a dedicated little derrire garde (to borrow a term from the composer Stefania de Kenessey) to gird for the battle to take art back from the Modernists. They called themselves the Centerists.
In his lifetime, Hart engaged in the discussions of art’s philosophical and sociological significance. It is not the first case in art history that an artist's work was either controversial or invisible to critics while gaining a place in the art of eons. Harts work rose almost unnoticed to the highest possible longevity and renown, carved in stone on the National Cathedral and standing as national monuments.
In a memorial tribute to the sculptor at the Senate, Reverend Stephen Happel said, "The [National Cathedral] facade sculptures reach out from the center to the edges of day and night and extend themselves into the city and our world. They proselytize; they preach; they evangelize about how the world could be if values of beauty and truth were embraced."
Frederick Hart quotes
- "Art must touch our lives, our fears and cares – evoke our dreams and give hope to the darkness."
- "It's like touching hands with a generation that is no more." (about apprenticeship with master stone carvers)
- "It was a feeling of fulfilling my destiny." (winning the Creation commission)
Notable works
- The Three Soldiers sculpture - Located at the Vietnam Veterans MemorialVietnam Veterans MemorialThe Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the War.Its...
in Washington, D.C. Dedicated in 1984. - The Creation Sculptures - on the west facade of Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Commissioned in 1974, and dedicated between 1978 and 1984.
- President James Earl CarterJimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
sculpture - Located at the Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. - Senator Richard B. Russell sculpture - Located in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office BuildingRussell Senate Office BuildingThe Russell Senate Office Building is the oldest of the United States Senate office buildings. Designed in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, it was built from 1903 to 1908, opened in 1909, and named for former Senator Richard Brevard Russell, Jr. of Georgia in 1972...
in Washington, D.C. Dedicated in 1996. - The Cross of the Millennium - An acrylic sculpture presented to Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul IIBlessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in 1997 in honor of 50 years of priesthood. - Fauquier County Veterans' Memorial, Operation Desert Storm - Warrenton, VA, 40' bronze collaboration with sculptor Jay Hall CarpenterJay Hall CarpenterJay Hall Carpenter, born ca. 1961, is a professional sculptor, perhaps best known as creator of 500 sculptures for the Washington National Cathedral...
, 1991. - Senator Strom Thurmond - Bronze bust installed in the Strom Thurmond Room of the Capitol Building.
- J. Danforth Quayle - Marble bust created for the Senate's Vice Presidential Bust Collection.
- Songs of Grace - acrylic sculpture, is installed in 2005 in the permanent collection at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
- Three Soldiers, Detail - a bronze sculpture is installed in 2008 and dedicated by Jan C. Scruggs, Founder, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, at the Veterans Memorial Plaza, Apalachicola, Florida.
Awards and accolades
- Hart was awarded a patent for inventing a unique process of embedding one acrylic sculpture within another
- In 1985 President Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
appointed Hart to a five-year term on the Commission of Fine Arts, a seven-member committee that advises the U.S. Government on matters pertaining the arts, and guides the architectural development of the nation's capital. - In 1987 Hart received the Henry HeringHenry HeringHenry Hering was an American sculptor who was born New York City on February 15, 1874 and died there on January 17, 1949.-Early career:He was a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens at Cooper Union and of Philip Martiny at the Art Students League of New York...
Award from the National Sculpture SocietyNational Sculpture SocietyFounded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members included several renowned architects. The founding...
for sculpture in an architectural setting, shared with architect Philip Frohman (National Cathedral work). - In 1988 he was the recipient of the quadrennial Presidential Design Excellence Award (Vietnam Memorial work).
- In 1993 Hart received an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of South Carolina for his "ability to create art that uplifts the human spirit, his commitment to the ideal that art must renew its moral authority by rededicating itself to life, his skill in creating works that compel attention as they embrace the concerns of mankind, and his contributions to the rich cultural heritage of our nation."
- In 1998 he receives the first annual Newington-Cropsey Foundation Award for Excellence in the Arts.
- In 2004 Hart was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States Government.
- In 2005 Songs of Grace is installed in the permanent collection at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The work is received by Museum Director Mikhail Piotrovsky as a gift from the American people. In the official acceptance speech the director notes that this work is important in that it signifies their desire to establish a twentieth-century collection.
- In 2008 the premiere of the ballet, Between Stillness, inspired by the sculpture, Ex Nihilo, is conceived and staged by the University of Louisville and the Louisville Ballet, Louisville, Kentucky.
- In 2008 the monograph, Frederick Hart, The Complete Works, Butler Books, Publisher, is awarded a silver medal in the National Fine Art Category by Independent Publisher Book Awards.
- In 2008 The Midwest Book Review offers an impressive endorsement of the monograph stating, “No academic university, 20th Century art or American sculpture collection can be considered comprehensive without the inclusion of the Butler Books' superbly published edition of "Frederick Hart: The Complete Works"! – Reviewed by Michael J. Carson. Volume 7, Number 11, November 2007.
- In September 2008 Ex Nihilo, Fragment No.8 is installed at the Lightner Museum in Saint Augustine, Florida.
External links
- Frederick Hart Official website
- New York Times Obituary by Tom Wolfe