Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) was the foremost American sculptor of the Gilded Age. Born in Dublin to a French father and Irish mother, he grew up in New York City and trained as a cameo cutter before studying sculpture in Paris and Rome. His public monuments defined a generation of American civic art.

Saint-Gaudens' masterworks include the Shaw Memorial in Boston (honoring the first African American regiment in the Civil War), the Adams Memorial in Washington, and the Sherman Monument in Central Park. He also designed the famous $20 Double Eagle gold coin, widely considered the most beautiful American coin ever minted. Our collection includes 7 works at museums including the Art Institute of Chicago.