Life and Works of Daniel Chester French
A Heritage of Beauty, beginning with the unveiling of iconic The Minute Man in Concord, Massachusetts, explores French’s formative years, his involvement and contributions to public sculptured work which ultimately lead to his collaboration with arq. Henry Bacon in the design and execution of The Lincoln Memorial which is now awaits its rededication to celebrate its 100th Anniversary.
Chesterwood, the summer home and studio and gardens of Daniel Chester French, is privileged location, a site of creativity telling the story of America’s foremost 20th C.
It was here, at Chesterwood, where many of French’s impressive sculptural work, including the Lincoln Memorial, where conceived and often developed. Today, the Lincoln Memorial stands as the single and most significant temple to American Democracy, the focus of the Civil Rights Movement and the People’s chosen site to congregate in times of hope or despair.
A Heritage of Beauty goes beyond the eye and political significance in public art such as John Harvard in Harvard University or Alma Mater at Columbia University, or the Richard Morris Hunt Memorial in Central Park and General George Washington equestrian monument honoring the founder in Paris. A Heritage of Beauty explores further Daniel Chester French’s inspiration in the female form revealed in Andromeda, currently exhibited at Chesterwood and Memory, part the permanent exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In A Heritage of Beauty, the public and the private eye meet and evoke the essence of the American pioneering sculptor.
“Kanopy is online streaming source of highly sophisticated visual content that inspire us, enrich us, and challenge our perspectives. Kanopy ensures that these films reach viewers around the world.” -Montes-Bradley
A Heritage of Beauty is not a mere attempt to conform a tribute to the artist, it is an educational instrument in the toolbox of docents, schoolteachers and academics hoping to reach a worldwide audience. With the help of Kanopy Streaming, Heritage Film Project’s distributor, we will allow us to rediscover one of America’s most prolific sculptors of public monuments: Daniel Chester French.
Made possible in collaboration with
CHERSTERWOOD Donna HASSLER Michael RICHMAN Daniel PRESTON Margaret CHERIN Rufus COLLINS Dana PILSON Jeffrey PLANK Valerie BALINT
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