Saint Thomas Church
Read MoreSaint Thomas Church World War I Memorial by Lee Lawrie
At the top is the Archangel Michael, who drives his lance into the dragon. Below is relief of American soldiers going from America (represented by Saint Thomas Church) to France (represented by Rheims Catheral). The names on the wall are parishioners who served in the war. The names in gold at the top are those who gave their lives. The colored shields on the stone above the door are the branches of the armed services. On the door are the shields of the Allied Nations. Information from "A Walking Tour of Saint Thomas Church."
Lee Lawrie (1877-1963) was one of the foremost architectural sculptors and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II, according to Wikipedia. He produced over 300 commissions in styles ranging from Modern Gothic, Beaux-Arts Classicism and finally into Moderne or Art Deco. He worked on details on the Nebraska State Capitol building in Lincoln, Nebraska and some of the architectural sculpture and, his most prominent work, the free-standing bronze Atlas (installed 1937) at New York City's Rockefeller Center.
Lawrie collaborated with architects Ralph Adams Cram and Bertram Goodhue that brought him widespread acclaim as one of the greatest architectural sculptors in America. Lawrie continued to work with Goodhue after the breakup of the Cram, Goodhue firm in 1914. After Goodhue’s premature death in 1924, Lawrie continued to work with his successors. Lawrie's collaborations with Goodhue are arguably the most highly developed example of architectural sculpture in American architectural history according to Wikipedia.
After Goodhue's death, Lawrie went on to produce important and highly visible work under Raymond Hood at Rockefeller Center in New York City, which included the Atlas in collaboration with Rene Paul Chambellan. The statue is 45 feet tall with a 15-foot figure of Atlas supporting an armillary sphere. Above the entrance to 30 Rockeller Plaza is Lawrie’s Wisdom, an Art Deco piece and one of the most visible works in the complex.
Other Lawrie works include:
• Allegorical relief panels called Courage, Patriotism and Wisdom over the entry doors to United States Senate chamber
• Nebraska State Capital Building
• L.A. Public Library
• Louisiana State Capital Building
• Peace Memorial at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
• Statue of George Washington, National Cathedral, Washington, D.C
• Harkness Memorial Tower at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
• National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the bronze doors of the John Adams Building at the Library of Congress Annex, both in Washington, D.C
• Designed sculptures for the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial in Brittany, France executed by Jean Juge of Paris and the French sculptor, Augustine Beggi.
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