Edward McCartan

Edward McCartan was a New York State based artist strongly influenced by French Sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon. Many of McCartans designs were of ornamental nature and of Greek mythology. Born August 16th, 1879, in Albany, NY, Edward appears to have gravitated towards sculpting from his earliest years. He began to draw instinctively at the age of five or six. At age ten his talent became apparent when he modeled in clay, the figure of a lion. Edward received encouragement from his mother and elementary school principal and began studying art at Albany High School with his emphasis being mainly drawing and painting classes.

After two years of high school, while still in his teens, Edward moved to Brooklyn, NY. In the mid 1890's he entered Pratt Institute to study under sculptor, Herbert Adams. He was further trained by George Grey Barnard and Hermon Atkins MacNeil at the Arts Students League in 1901. He served as a helper in several studios before modeling his own works that would give him recognition. Although he his work consisted of enlarging models or touch up work, the work gave him valuable skills and experience. During this period he was acquainted with other aspiring sculptors in the Art Students League including Jo Davidson, Jacob Epstien, and Sherry Fry. He was employed in several studios as a helper and began freelance work for various sculptors. He became a regular employee at Adams and Macneil. In 1906, he received a commission when he sculpted the monument for Benito Juarez for the city of Monterey, Mexico. McCartan moved to Paris in 1907 to continue his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he studied under Jean Antoine Injalbert. He also attended the American Academy of Rome with a painting fellowship. McCartan began creating small sculptures in terra -cotta. At this point he had yet to establish his own style and reputation as a sculptor, he returned to New York in 1910.

He was working under Karl Bitter in a Hoboken, NJ studio when he created a 56" version of Pan, a garden sculpture. Pan was exhibited at the National Academy of Design and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, which gave him considerable exposure. Although he wasn't especially interested in garden sculpture he knew there was a market for it, particularly sculptures with mythological themes. In 1912, he won the Helen Foster Barnett Prize at the National Academy of Design for his piece titled Fountain. He created several more garden sculptures including Spirit of the Woods, winner of the George D. Widener Gold Medal of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He began teaching at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York in 1914 as the Director of the Department of Sculpture where he encouraged the study of ornamental design and architectural techniques. He rented a studio from sculptor Malvina Hoffman, a contemporary and friend. He used his living quarters as his studio where he would live and work for the next ten years. In 1915 he created Girl drinking from a Shell which was exhibited at the Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York+ in 1916. In 1920 McCartan created Nymph and Satyr, which was considered his strongest work at that point of his career.

He received his first large-scale job from Delano and Aldrich Architects to create a memorial to poet Eugene Field in Chicago for which he was awarded the Architectural League of New York's Medal of Honor. In 1923, he modeled a smaller version of his well-known piece Diana. The goddess Diana, a nude figure struggling with a dog, emphasizes the muscular tension and strong bodylines of both subjects. The first cast of his 24-inch version of Diana was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also created a seven-foot version, which was modeled for a garden in Connecticut. Diana came to be known as McCartan's signature piece and he was awarded the Medal of Honor by the Concord Art Association. With his growing success he was able to open his own studio in 1924 in Manhattan. In 1925 he was elected a full member of the National Academy of Design.

He began his three-year membership in the New York City Art Commission. In 1928 he began his first of several architectural designs with his large heroic sculptures of Industry and Transportation for the clock above The Helmsley Building in New York City, at that time; The New York Central Building. This work, which stands on Park Avenue, gave him favorable publicity. McCartan also was also commissioned to create designs for the New Jersey Telephone Building in Newark, a pediment for Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and the Department of Labor and Interstate Commerce in Washington DC. He took on several jobs including designing a hood ornament for the Packard Car Company titled, Speed. In 1930, he completed "The Kiss". The design had been sketched by McCartan while in Paris years before. This piece was exhibited at the National Academy of Design. In 1933, the Allied Artists of America gave him the gold medal of Honor.

In the late 1930's he spent time living in California working on architectural projects and paintings and later as a visitor at the American Academy in Rome. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts purchased The Bather in 1938. In 1943, he was appointed head of the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute in Baltimore. In 1936 he created a larger version of his 1923 model of Dionysus for Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1944. He also became a member of the National Sculpture Society and the National Academy of Design where he served as vice- president.

In 1947, Edward McCartan died at the age of sixty-eight. Known best for idealizing human form through his skilled craftsmanship, Edward McCartan is renowned as one of the great American artists.