Horatio Greenough
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Horatio Greenough (1805-1852) was the first American to pursue sculpture as a full-time profession and a pioneer of functionalist design theory. Born in Boston and educated at Harvard, he moved to Florence in 1825 and spent most of his career there. He received the first major sculpture commission from the U.S. government: a colossal seated George Washington (1832-40) modeled on the ancient Zeus at Olympia.
The Washington statue, depicting the first president bare-chested in a classical toga, proved too controversial for the Capitol Rotunda and was eventually moved outside, then to the Smithsonian. Despite the public reaction, Greenough's writings on art and architecture, advocating that form should follow function, influenced later thinkers from Louis Sullivan to the Bauhaus movement.
Sculptures by Horatio Greenough
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About Horatio Greenough
His colossal seated George Washington (1840), modeled on the ancient Zeus, caused controversy because it depicted Washington half-naked in classical robes. It's now at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Greenough was the first professional American sculptor and an early advocate of functionalist design. His idea that form should follow function, articulated decades before Louis Sullivan, influenced modern architecture and design theory.
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