author
Lorado Taft
1860–1936
A leading sculptor of the American Renaissance, this Illinois-born artist helped shape public art in the Midwest with grand fountains, monuments, and allegorical figures. He was also a teacher and writer who brought sculpture to a wider audience.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Elmwood, Illinois, in 1860, Lorado Taft became one of the best-known American sculptors of his era. He studied at the University of Illinois and then at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1880 to 1883, before building his career in Chicago.
Taft is remembered for large civic works that combine scale with clear storytelling, including Fountain of Time, Fountain of the Great Lakes, and the Alma Mater sculpture at the University of Illinois. His work was closely tied to Illinois and the broader Midwest, and he played an important part in the American Renaissance movement.
Beyond sculpture, he was an influential educator and writer. Britannica and other reference sources note his importance as a teacher, and his book The History of American Sculpture helped early readers and students take the subject seriously as a part of American cultural life.