Adolph Alexander Weinman

American, born German, 1870 - 1952

BiographyAdolph Alexander Weinman is best known for his architectural sculpture and for designing the "Walking Liberty" on the half-dollar and ten-cent coins of 1916. Weinman was born in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1870 and came to the United States at the age of ten. Weinmann first studied at the Cooper Union School in New York and later at the Art Students League in New York. For five years he studied at the studio of the sculptor, Philip Martiny, and improved his artistic skills as a student of the famous Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Weinman opened a studio in New York, where his figure sculptures were well received. By 1906 he was elected a member of the National Academy. Works by Weinman can be found in a number of museum collections, including the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, and the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Weinman also helped Malvina Hoffman establish a class in anatomy for artists at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1914. Weinman and several other sculptors wrote letters of support urging the necessity of such a class, especially for sculptors. Although Weinman's sketchbook may represent lessons from an anatomical chart, he joined the class, which met twice a week from 1914 to 1916, to sketch from skeletons and cadavers. (Adolph Alexander Weinman lecture delivered to the Pen and Brush Club, May 4, 1948).

Source:

Adolph Alexander Weinman Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Karges Fine Art, www.kargesfineart.com

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