Horatio Greenough
Horatio Greenough was an influential American sculptor and critic born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a large family. His passion for sculpture ignited in childhood, inspired by a marble statue in his garden and works at the Boston Athenaeum. After graduating from Harvard in 1825, he traveled to Europe, where he studied under renowned Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen in Rome. Greenough's return to the U.S. marked the beginning of his notable career, which included commissions for busts of prominent figures like President John Quincy Adams and a controversial sculpture known as the Chanting Cherubs that established his reputation despite initial public outcry.
He believed that art should reflect the natural order, asserting that function should dictate form in both sculpture and architecture. His most significant work, a statue of George Washington for the Capitol, sparked critical debate and took years to complete. Throughout the 1840s, Greenough also became a vocal advocate for an American aesthetic, publishing essays that challenged European criticisms of American art. His literary engagements connected him with influential Transcendentalist thinkers, and he published a collection of essays under a pseudonym in 1852, further contributing to the discourse on American art and culture. Greenough's legacy is marked by his dedication to establishing a distinct American artistic identity.
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Horatio Greenough
Sculptor
- Born: September 6, 1805
- Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
- Died: December 18, 1852
- Place of death: Somerville, Massachusetts
Biography
Sculptor and critic Horatio Greenough was born to a family of eleven children in Boston, Massachusetts. Captivated as a child by a marble statute of Phocion in his family garden and by statues observed during visits to the Boston Athenaeum, Greenough decided that he wanted to be a sculptor. Receiving help from local stonecutter and architect Solomon Willard and expatriate French sculptor John Binon, Greenough made enough progress that his father agreed he could pursue his interests so long as he graduated from Harvard.
Graduating in 1825, Greenough made his way to Europe. In Rome, he studied under Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, who would prove a significant influence upon Greenough. After a bout of malaria, Greenough returned to the United States, where he undertook the creation of busts of President John Quincy Adams and Chief Justice John Marshall, among others. In 1827, he also wrote a review of a book of poems by Richard Henry Dana for the American Quarterly Review, where he first set forth his theories of an American aesthetic that diverged sharply from European norms. Within the year, however, he had returned to Italy and decided to live in Florence. For the rest of his life, he would divide his time between Florence and Boston.
Greenough was soon commissioned by American novelist James Fenimore Cooper to sculpt a small marble grouping that Greenough eventually called the Chanting Cherubs. Initially protested by the public because the group depicted nude infants, the sculpture nevertheless made his reputation. As Greenough’s artistic life flourished, he developed his aesthetic theories even further. Sculpture and architecture should follow the laws of nature, he argued, in that function should decree form.
By 1833, Greenough was commissioned to sculpt a statue of George Washington to be placed in the Capitol. The work took him until 1840 to complete; although the sculpture was more classical and more massive than conceived by the commissioning body, the critical debate over it further cemented his reputation. In 1837, Greenough married Louisa Ingersoll Gore of Boston, who had inherited enough money to keep the couple comfortable.
Throughout the 1840’s, Greenough published a number of essays on art, aesthetics, and architecture in such magazines as United States Magazine and Democratic Review that again refuted the disdain European critics held for American culture. His literary connections soon rivaled his sculpting ones. By the early 1850’s, he had made the acquaintance of such Transcendentalist writers as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, as well as poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In 1852, Greenough published under a pseudonym a book of essays titled The Travels, Observations, and Experiences of a Yankee Stonecutter, which included various earlier essays and a number of commentaries on various forms of American art.