Lorado Zadoc Taft (April 29, 1860 – October 30, 1936) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. Taft was born in Elmwood, Illinois in 1860 and died in his home studio in Chicago in 1936.[1]
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After being homeschooled by his parents, Taft earned his bachelor’s degree (1879) and master’s degree (1880) from the University of Illinois where his father was a professor of Geology.[2] The same year he left for Paris to study sculpture, he continued to maintain his connections with the university in Urbana and his sculpture of Alma Mater at Urbana has come to symbolize something significant.
In Paris, Taft attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he studied with Augustin Dumont, Jean-Marie Bonnassieux and Jules Thomas. Upon returning to the United States in 1886 he settled in Chicago; and he began teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago, a post he was to remain at until 1929.
In 1892, while the art community of Chicago was all in a twitter about preparing for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, head architect Daniel Burnham expressed concern to Taft that the sculptural adornments to the buildings might not be finished on time. Taft asked if he could employ some of his female students as assistants (women as sculptors were not an accepted reality at that time) for the Horticultural Building, Burnham responded with the classic reply, ‘Hire anyone, even white rabbits if they’ll do the work." From that arose a group of talented women sculptors who were to retain the name, "the White Rabbits." These included Enid Yandell, Carol Brooks MacNeil, Bessie Potter Vonnoh, Janet Scudder, and Julia Bracken. Later another former student, Francis Loring, noted that Taft used his students’ talents to further his own career, a not uncommon observation by students regarding their teachers. In general, history has given Taft credit for helping to advance the status of women as sculptors.
His was not an entirely urban-centered life. In 1898, he was a founding member of the Eagle's Nest Art Colony.
In 1903 Taft published The History of American Sculpture, the first survey of the subject. In some settings, Taft is perhaps better known for his published writings than for his sculpture. The revised 1925 version of this text was to remain the standard reference on this subject until Wayne Craven published "Sculpture in America" in 1968.
As Taft grew older, his eloquent speaking skills and compelling writing led Taft, along with Frederick Ruckstull to the forefront of sculpture’s conservative ranks, where he often served as a spokesperson against the modern and abstract trends which developed in sculpture during his lifetime. Taft's frequent lecture tours for the Chautauqua also gave him a broad, popular celebrity status in this period.
In 1921, Taft published Modern Tendencies in Sculpture, a compilation of his lectures given at the Art Institute of Chicago. The book continues to be regarded as an excellent survey of American sculpture in the early years of the 20th century; and it offered a distinct perspective on the development of European sculpture scene at that time.
Amongst other honors, Taft's accomplishments were recognized by his election to membership in the National Institute of Arts and Letters (now known as the American Academy of Arts and Letters). He was active until the end of his life. The week before he died, he attended the Quincy, Illinois dedication ceremonies for his sculpture which celebrated the Lincoln-Douglas debates.[1]
Lorado Taft was a member of the National Sculpture Society and exhibited at both their 1923 and 1929 shows. Today Taft is best remembered for his various fountains.
After more than a dozen years of work Taft's Fountain of Time was unveiled at the west end of Chicago's Midway Plaisance in 1922. Based on poet Austin Dobson's lines: "Time goes, you say? Ah no, Alas, time stays, we go." the fountain shows a cloaked figure of time observing the stream of humanity flowing past.
The last major commission that Taft was to complete in his life was two groups for the front entrance to the Louisiana State Capitol Building, dedicated in 1932.
There's a biography and other material about Lorado Taft available in this reference describing the 1965 National Historic Landmark-designated Lorado Taft Midway Studios.[3]
LORADO TAFT (1860-), American sculptor, was born at Elmwood, Illinois, on the 29th of April 1860. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1879, and from 1880 to 1883 studied in the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris. In 1886 he became instructor at the Art Institute, Chicago, lecturing there, at the Chicago University, and elsewhere in the United States. He is the author of an exhaustive and authoritative work, The History of American Sculpture (1903). Among his works, in addition to much portraiture, are: "Sleep of the Flowers" and "Awakening of the Flowers," both made for the Columbian Exposition; "Despair" (1898); "Solitude of the Soul" (1900), and "Fountain of the Lakes" (1903).
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   | Lorado Taft Papers, 1857-1953 University of Illinois Archives - Lorado Taft Papers -- this finding aid has been superceded |
| | Descriptions and photographs of two works - Ella Sharp Museum of Art and History - Our Story - Jackson History - Outdoor Sculpture |
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