Lorado Taft

Born in Illinois in 1860, Lorado Taft became one of the best-known American sculptors of his era. He studied at the University of Illinois, continued his training in Paris, and then returned to Chicago, where he opened a studio and joined the faculty of the Art Institute of Chicago. Alongside his own work, he became an influential teacher and mentor.

Taft is especially remembered for large public sculptures and fountains, including major works in Chicago such as the Fountain of Time. His art helped define the look of civic spaces in the Midwest and beyond, and his career stretched across the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was also a writer who shared his enthusiasm for art with a wide audience.

For audiobook listeners, Taft is interesting not only as a sculptor but as a clear and inviting author on art. His books reflect a practical, human view of creativity, shaped by years of making monuments, teaching students, and thinking about how sculpture speaks to everyday life.