Evelyn Beatrice Longman

Evelyn Beatrice Longman was a prominent American sculptor who achieved significant acclaim during the American Renaissance and became the first woman sculptor to be elected a full member of the National Academy of Design. Her prolific career spanned monumental public works, architectural adornment, and symbolic figures for major corporations and expositions. Longman's technically proficient and elegant neoclassical style made her a sought-after collaborator for leading architects and a respected figure in the early 20th-century art world.

Biography

Evelyn Beatrice Longman was born in 1874 in Winchester, Ohio, and showed an early aptitude for art. She pursued formal training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied under the influential sculptor Lorado Taft. Seeking greater opportunity, she moved to New York City and established a studio, quickly gaining attention for her skillful draftsmanship and modeling. Her talent secured her a crucial position as an assistant in the studio of the renowned sculptor Daniel Chester French, where she worked on major projects like the statue of the Republic for the World's Columbian Exposition. This apprenticeship proved instrumental, connecting her with the era's leading artists and architects and launching her independent career.

Career and major works

Longman's career was defined by large-scale architectural sculpture and public monuments. A major early success was her allegorical figure Victory, which crowned the Festival Hall at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904. She became a frequent collaborator with the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, creating sculptural programs for buildings like the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis and the House and Senate office buildings in Washington, D.C.. One of her most famous works is the colossal gilded bronze figure Genius of Electricity, popularly known as "Golden Boy," created in 1916 for the top of the AT&T headquarters building in New York City. Other significant commissions include the Spanish–American War monument in Hartford, Connecticut, and the bronze doors for the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Awards and recognition

Evelyn Longman received numerous honors that underscored her professional stature. In 1919, she was elected an Associate member of the National Academy of Design, achieving full Academician status in 1928, a historic first for a female sculptor. Her work was regularly exhibited at prestigious institutions like the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Art Institute of Chicago. She won a gold medal at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 for her sculpture Into the Unknown. Later in her career, she was also elected a member of the National Sculpture Society, further cementing her reputation among her peers.

Legacy and influence

Longman's legacy lies in her successful navigation of a male-dominated field to execute some of the most visible sculptural projects of her era. Her works, integral to the Beaux-Arts architecture of the early 20th century, remain landmarks on numerous civic and institutional buildings across the United States. While her style was of its time, her technical mastery and prolific output paved the way for subsequent generations of women in monumental sculpture. Several of her major pieces, including Genius of Electricity, have been preserved and relocated, such as to the AT&T Corporation campus in New Jersey, ensuring continued public engagement with her art.

Personal life

In 1920, Evelyn Longman married Nathaniel Horton Batchelder, the headmaster of the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. Following her marriage, she relocated her studio to the school's campus, where she continued to work and also mentored students. The couple had no children. She remained active in her craft until later in life, and she and her husband retired to Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Longman died in Osterville, Massachusetts in 1954, leaving behind a substantial body of work that documents an important chapter in American architectural sculpture.

Category:American sculptors Category:1874 births Category:1954 deaths