Gaston Lachaise

Gaston Lachaise
Gaston Lachaise photographed by Carl Van Vechten, May 26, 1933
BornMarch 19, 1882
Paris, France
DiedOctober 18, 1935(1935-10-18) (aged 53)
NationalityFrench
EducationÉcole des Beaux-Arts
Known forSculpture
Notable workStanding Woman (1928-30)

Gaston Lachaise (March 19, 1882 – October 18, 1935) was a French-born sculptor, active in America in the early 20th century. A native of Paris, he is most noted for his robust female nudes such as his heroic Standing Woman. Gaston Lachaise was taught the fundamentals of European sculpture while living in France. While still a student, he met and fell in love with an older American woman, Isabel Dutaud Nagle, then followed her after she returned to America. There, he became profoundly impressed by the great vitality and promise of his adopted country. Those life-altering experiences clarified his artistic vision and inspired him to define the female nude in a new and powerful manner. His drawings, typically made as ends in themselves, also exemplify his remarkably new treatment of the female body.