Augusta Homer Saint-Gaudens

Augusta Homer Saint-Gaudens. She was an American art patron, collaborator, and the wife of the renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. A member of the prominent Homer family, she was a first cousin of the painter Winslow Homer and played a crucial, though often private, role in her husband's career and the broader American Renaissance in art. Her life was deeply intertwined with the artistic communities of New York City and the Cornish Art Colony.

Early life and family

Augusta Homer was born in 1848 in Roxbury, part of Boston, into a distinguished New England family. Her father, Thomas Johnston Homer, was a merchant, and she was a direct descendant of early Massachusetts Bay Colony settlers. The artistic legacy of her family was cemented by her first cousin, the celebrated American painter Winslow Homer. She was educated in the cultured environment of Boston and developed an early appreciation for the arts, which prepared her for her future role. Her social standing and intellectual background placed her within influential circles in 19th-century America.

Marriage to Augustus Saint-Gaudens

She married the rising sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1877, in a ceremony in Roxbury. Their union connected two significant creative forces: her established Boston Brahmin heritage and his immigrant-driven, bohemian artistry from New York City. The marriage provided social stability and crucial financial management for her husband's burgeoning studio. They initially lived and worked in New York City, where Augustus Saint-Gaudens maintained his studio, and later established a seasonal home that would become central to the Cornish Art Colony in New Hampshire. Their only child, Homer Saint-Gaudens, who would become a noted museum director and critic, was born in 1880.

Artistic collaboration and influence

Augusta Homer Saint-Gaudens served as an essential business manager, correspondent, and critical advisor within her husband's studio. She handled negotiations with important patrons like Stanford White of the firm McKim, Mead & White and institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her influence extended to the conceptual and aesthetic realms, where she offered feedback on major works like the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common and the Diana that once crowned the old Madison Square Garden. She was a central hostess and social anchor at their estate, Aspet, in Cornish, New Hampshire, helping to foster the collaborative environment of the Cornish Art Colony, which attracted figures like Maxfield Parrish and Winston Churchill.

Later life and legacy

Following the death of Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1907, she dedicated herself to preserving and promoting his legacy. She worked closely with their son, Homer Saint-Gaudens, who became director of the Department of Fine Arts at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. She was instrumental in organizing posthumous exhibitions and overseeing the creation of the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park at their Cornish, New Hampshire home. Her stewardship ensured that his papers and plaster models were preserved for institutions like the Dartmouth College library. She remained a respected figure in the Cornish Art Colony until her death in 1926.

Notable works and collections

While not a creator of artworks herself, her collaborative influence is evident in the major sculptures and monuments by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. These include the iconic Adams Memorial in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C., the standing Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln Park, and the gold Double Eagle coin for the United States Mint. Her personal papers and correspondence, along with the vast collection of her husband's plasters and models, form significant holdings at the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park and the Rauner Special Collections Library at Dartmouth College. These collections provide invaluable insight into the Gilded Age art world.

Category:American art patrons Category:1848 births Category:1926 deaths