Daniel Chester French (1850–1931) was an American sculptor who was active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, to Anne Richardson French and Henry Flagg French on April 20, 1850. His father, a polymath, was a judge and college president who popularized the French drain. In 1867, the family moved to Concord, Massachusetts, and French enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. French did not perform well academically and, after a year, he left the college and returned to Concord where he first learned sculpture while attending art classes with Louisa May Alcott. Between 1869 and 1872, French studied anatomy with William Rimmer, and in 1870 he undertook a one-month apprenticeship with the sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward. After completing The Minute Man in 1875, French studied sculpture in Florence, Italy, for a year, during part of which he worked out of Thomas Ball's studio.
French's education ended and career began in 1876 when he accepted a contract to produce a set of statues for the United States Post Office Department. He created statues for the Post Office throughout the 1880s. In 1883, French was commissioned to create John Harvard. For the rest of his career, French produced commissions for state, federal, and private groups as well as private individuals. In 1896, he moved his studio to Chesterwood, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where it remained until his death. In 1912, French was appointed as chair of the United States Commission of Fine Arts. He continued to be on the commission until 1915, when he resigned to accept his most famous commission, Abraham Lincoln, which sits in the Lincoln Memorial. On October 7, 1931, French died in his sleep.
French was a prolific sculptor, creating 94 existent public sculptures and nine that have been destroyed from 1871 until his death in 1931. His sculptures are mostly in the eastern and midwestern United States, but one, Thomas Starr King, is in San Francisco, and two, General George Washington and the Marseillaise Memorial, are in France. The majority of the sculptures are bronze castings or made of stone, but Progress of the State is gilded copper, and Alma Mater, Wisconsin, and The Republic are gilded bronze. Nearly all of French's works are solo, but ten, Ulysses S. Grant, General George Washington (Paris), Joseph Hooker, General George Washington (Chicago), General Charles Devens, Indian Corn, Wheat, Progress of the State, The Triumph of Columbus, and Agriculture, were the result of a collaboration with Edward Clark Potter. General Philip H. Sheridan was a completion of an unfinished statue by John Quincy Adams Ward, and the Daniel Webster Memorial was completed by Margaret French Cresson after French's death.
Existent public sculpture +NamePhotoLocationCity or neighborhoodYear(s)MaterialNotes Minute Man National Historical Park Concord, Massachusetts Bronze Law, Prosperity, and Power Fairmount Park Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Marble Created for the United States Post Office in Philadelphia and moved to its current location in 1937 Peace and Vigilance United States Customhouse and Post Office St. Louis, Missouri Marble John Harvard Harvard Yard Cambridge, Massachusetts Bronze Science Controlling the Forces of Electricity and Steam Franklin Park Zoo Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts MarbleCreated for the United States Post Office and Sub-Treasury Building in Boston and moved to its current location in 1930 Labor Sustaining Art and the Family Franklin Park Zoo Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts MarbleCreated for the United States Post Office and Sub-Treasury Building in Boston and moved to its current location in 1930 Gallaudet University NoMa, Washington, District of Columbia Bronze Death and the Sculptor Forest Hills Cemetery Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts Bronze Also called the Milmore Memorial and The Angel of Death and the Young Sculptor Thomas Starr King Golden Gate Park San Francisco, California Bronze The Fenway Fenway–Kenmore, Boston, Massachusetts Bronze Also called Erin and Her Sons, Patriotism, and Poetry Chapman Memorial Forest Home Cemetery Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bronze Also called the T.A. Chapman Memorial and the Alice G. Chapman Memorial Forest Hills Cemetery Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts Bronze Also called the Angel of Peace University Club Seals University Club of New York Manhattan, New York, New York Stone Seals of Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Brown University, Williams College, Amherst College, Hamilton College, United States Military Academy, and United States Naval Academy Smith Memorial Arch Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Bronze Fairmount Park Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Bronze Created with Edward Clark Potter Place d'Iéna Bronze Created with Edward Clark Potter Justice Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, First Judicial Department Manhattan, New York, New York Marble Also known as Justice, Power, and Study University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Bronze Wisdom Minnesota State Capitol Saint Paul, Minnesota Marble Courage Minnesota State Capitol Saint Paul, Minnesota Marble Bounty Minnesota State Capitol Saint Paul, Minnesota Marble Truth Minnesota State Capitol Saint Paul, Minnesota Marble Integrity Minnesota State Capitol Saint Paul, Minnesota Marble Prudence Minnesota State Capitol Saint Paul, Minnesota Marble Central Park Manhattan, New York, New York Bronze New Hampshire State House Concord, New Hampshire Bronze Alma Mater Low Memorial Library Manhattan, New York, New York Gilded bronze Music and Poetry Boston Public Library, McKim Building Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts Bronze Knowledge and Wisdom Boston Public Library, McKim Building Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts Bronze Truth and Romance Boston Public Library, McKim Building Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts Bronze Massachusetts State House Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts Bronze Created with Edward Clark Potter Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny Allegheny Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Bronze Washington Park Washington Park, Chicago, Illinois Bronze Created with Edward Clark Potter, replica of original in Paris Institutional District Worcester, Massachusetts Bronze Created with Edward Clark Potter Olmsted Park Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts Granite Asia Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Manhattan, New York, New York Marble Part of a group known as the Four Continents America Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Manhattan, New York, New York Marble Part of a group known as the Four Continents Europe Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Manhattan, New York, New York Marble Part of a group known as the Four Continents Africa Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Manhattan, New York, New York Marble Part of a group known as the Four Continents Progress of the State Minnesota State Capitol Saint Paul, Minnesota Gilded copper Created with Edward Clark Potter Jurisprudence Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Courthouse Cleveland, Ohio Marble Commerce Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Courthouse Cleveland, Ohio Marble Worcester City Hall and Common Worcester, Massachusetts Bronze Melvin Memorial Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Concord, Massachusetts Marble Also called Mourning Victory The Paseo Kansas City, Missouri Bronze Greek Epic Poetry Brooklyn Museum Brooklyn, New York, New York Marble Greek Lyric Poetry Brooklyn Museum Brooklyn, New York, New York Marble Greek Religion Brooklyn Museum Brooklyn, New York, New York Marble Chippewa Square Savannah, Georgia Bronze Peachtree Street Atlanta, Georgia Bronze Created for Terminal Station and moved several time before being placed in its current location in 2009 Edward I Cuyahoga County Courthouse Cleveland, Ohio Marble Cuyahoga County Courthouse Cleveland, Ohio Marble Modern and Ancient History Flanking the Seal of the New Hampshire Historical Society New Hampshire Historical Society Concord, New Hampshire Granite Graceland Cemetery Uptown, Chicago, Illinois Bronze Also called Memory Kinsley Memorial Woodlawn Cemetery Bronze Nebraska State Capitol Lincoln, Nebraska Bronze Also called Abraham Lincoln, Standing or Gettysburg Lincoln Draper Memorial Park Milford, Massachusetts Bronze Butt–Millet Memorial Fountain President's Park Washington, District of Columbia Marble Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Memorial Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site Cambridge, Massachusetts Bronze and marble Rutherfurd B. Stuyvesant Memorial Tranquility Cemetery Green Township, New Jersey Marble Also called the Angel of Peace Wisconsin Capitol Building Madison, Wisconsin Gilded Bronze Indian Corn Garfield Park East Garfield Park, Chicago, Illinois Bronze Part of a group known as The Bulls; created with Edward Clark Potter; cast from 1893 plaster statues Wheat Garfield Park East Garfield Park, Chicago, Illinois Bronze Part of a group known as The Bulls; created with Edward Clark Potter; cast from 1893 plaster statues Boston Public Garden Boston, Massachusetts Bronze Sculpture Saint Louis Art Museum St Louis, Missouri Marble Canfield Casino and Congress Park Saratoga Springs, New York Bronze Also known as the Spirit of Life Brooklyn Brooklyn Museum Brooklyn, New York, New York Granite Part of a group known as the Manhattan Bridge group Manhattan Brooklyn Museum Brooklyn, New York, New York Granite Part of a group known as the Manhattan Bridge group Prospect Park Brooklyn, New York, New York Bronze New York State Capitol Albany, New York Bronze Completed by French after John Quincy Adams Ward's death in 1910 Jackson Park Chicago, Illinois Gilded bronze Westview Cemetery Atlanta, Georgia Marble Also called Spirit of Achievement Fairview Cemetery Council Bluffs, Iowa Bronze Also called Dream Angel The Marseillaise Memorial Hôtel de Hanau Strasbourg, France Bronze Also called the Claude Rouget de Lisle Memorial Hazard Memorial Peace Dale, Rhode Island South Kingstown, Rhode Island Bronze Also called Life, Time, and the Weaver Grand Circus Park Historic District Detroit, Michigan Bronze Sea Dupont Circle Dupont Circle, Washington, District of Columbia Marble Part of the Dupont Circle Fountain Stars Dupont Circle Dupont Circle, Washington, District of Columbia Marble Part of the Dupont Circle Fountain Wind Dupont Circle Dupont Circle, Washington, District of Columbia Marble Part of the Dupont Circle Fountain Exeter War Memorial Gale Park Exeter, New Hampshire Bronze Lincoln Memorial National Mall, Washington, District of Columbia Marble Colton Chapel Easton, Pennsylvania Bronze Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn, New York, New York Bronze First Division Monument President's Park Washington, District of Columbia Bronze University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Bronze Boston Public Garden Boston, Massachusetts Bronze Also called The Spirit of Giving Milton War Memorial Milton Centre Historic District Milton, Massachusetts Bronze Also called In Flanders Fields Sunnyside Irvington, New York Bronze Florida, New York Florida, New York Bronze Schenley Park Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Bronze Schenley Park Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Bronze Part of the George Westinghouse Memorial Ball Brothers Memorial Ball State University Muncie, Indiana Bronze Also called Beneficence Congregational Christian Church Franklin, New Hampshire Bronze Completed after French's death in 1931 by Margaret French Cresson
Destroyed public sculpture