Frederick Hart (sculptor)

Frederick Hart
Born
Frederick Elliott Hart

November 3, 1943
Atlanta, Georgia
DiedAugust 13, 1999 (1999-08-14) (aged 55)
Baltimore, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of South Carolina (Did not graduate)

George Washington University (Did not graduate)

American University (Did not graduate)
Known forSculpture
Notable workEx Nihilo, Washington National Cathedral;
The Three Soldiers, Vietnam Veterans Memorial; James Earl Carter Presidential Statue, Georgia State Capitol
Ex Nihilo (1978–1984)

Frederick Elliott Hart (November 3, 1943 – August 13, 1999) was an American sculptor. The creator of hundreds of public monuments, private commissions, portraits, and other works of art, Hart is most famous for Ex Nihilo, a part of his Creation Sculptures at Washington National Cathedral, and The Three Servicemen (also known as The Three Soldiers), at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.[1]

Working within the figurative tradition of American Beaux-Arts sculpture, Hart's approach was that of a craftsman. With little formal schooling, he developed his skills on the job, learning ancient techniques from master carvers.[2]

Hart modeled his work in clay. Many of his larger pieces were carved in Italian marble or limestone, or cast in bronze. Throughout his career, Hart explored themes of beauty and spirituality, consciousness and identity, sculpting in transparent and semi-transparent acrylic materials using a process he patented.[3][1]

Strongly influenced by the dramatic poses of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Anna Hyatt Huntington, as well as the naturalism of Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French,[4] Hart's style was also shaped by that of Auguste Rodin,[5] especially in the way he conveyed movement, experimented with abstract forms, and pushed the boundaries of traditional figurative art.[6][7][8]

According to J. Carter Brown, Director Emeritus of the National Gallery of Art, “It is breathtaking to see an artist with the technical abilities and devotion to craft of Frederick Hart combine these gifts with an ability to go to the brink with them, but somehow keep the inner, emotional, intellectual and spiritual force of the work dominant."[9] In the words of Tom Wolfe: “Rick is—and I do not say this lightly—America’s greatest sculptor.”[10]

  1. ^ a b "Frederick E. Hart". United States Commission of Fine Arts. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference IDEAL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ US 4347270, Hart Frederick E, "Decorative article", published 1982-08-31 
  4. ^ Homan Potterton, "Metamorphosis: Stone Carver to Artist" in Frederick Hart: Sculptor (Hudson Hills Press, 1994), p. 19.
  5. ^ The Emerging Flame: The Work and Philosophy of Frederick E. Hart (Frederick E. Hart Sculpture Group, 1989).
  6. ^ Donald Martin Reynolds, "Apotheosis of the Human Figure: An Aesthetic of Evolutionary Humanism" in Frederick Hart: Sculptor (Hudson Hills Press, 1994), p. 63.
  7. ^ James F. Cooper, "The Re-enchantment of Public Art" in Frederick Hart: Sculptor (Hudson Hills Press, 1994), p. 70.
  8. ^ Michael Novak, "Beauty Is Truth: The Changing of the Tides" in Frederick Hart: Changing Tides (Hudson Hills Press, 2005), p. 1.
  9. ^ J. Carter Brown, Frederick Hart: Sculptor (Hudson Hills Press, 1995), p. 11.
  10. ^ "Museum Celebrating Renowned 20th Century Sculptor Frederick Hart to Open at Belmont". Belmont University. December 5, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2019.