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Guide to the Albert Stewart Photograph Collection
D19XX.3
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Table of contents
Title: Albert Stewart Photograph Collection
Creator:
Stewart, Albert
Dates: 1930-1965
Date (bulk): (bulk 1933-1935)
Quantity: 19.5 cubic feet
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library.
1090 Columbia Avenue
Claremont, California 91711
Abstract: The Albert Stewart Photograph
Collection contains drawings and photographs of sculptures created by Albert
Stewart, which document his career as one of America’s foremost modern sculptors.
His sculptures adorn the interiors and exteriors of numerous museums, government
institutions, memorials, churches, schools, and universities throughout California.
The collection covers the years 1930 to 1965, with the bulk of the material ranging
from 1933 to 1935.
Collection Number: D19XX.3
Physical Location: Ella Strong Denison Library
Language: English
This collection is open for research with permission from Ella Strong Denison
Library staff.
Property rights reside with Scripps College. Literary rights are retained by the
creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to
publish, please contact Ella Strong Denison Library staff.
Albert Stewart Photograph Collection. Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps
College, Claremont, California.
Gift of Marion Stewart on January 17, 1980.
Preliminary arrangement by library staff. Processed by History Associates
Incorporated, 2005.
No addition to the collection is anticipated.
Albert Stewart (1900-1965), one of America’s foremost modern sculptors was born in
Kensington, England, and immigrated to the United States with his grandfather at the
age of eight (his mother died at his birth). During the First World War he served in
the Canadian Royal Air Force, after which he returned to New York City and pursued
his art studies at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design and the Arts Students League,
wile also filling in for the staff cartoonist at the Herald Tribune. In New York he
studied under both Frederick MacMonnies and his mentor Paul Manship, for whom he
later became a chief assistant (1925-1930).
Manship’s art had a formative and lasting influence on Stewart. While working for
Manship, Stewart developed an appreciation for archaic trend in modern sculpture,
and for the statuary – Egyptian, early Greek, and Romanesque. His sculpture was
greatly influenced by the study of these periods, and animals were a recurring theme
throughout his career. Among these works are the hawk on the Ft. Moore Memorial
pylon in Los Angeles, and his monumental bronze bear, “Silver King” (1925) that was
purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. During the late 1920’s and 1930’s
Stewart worked on various items, ranging from medals to large, monumental
architectural decorations. Stewart’s architectural sculpture, which he began in the
1930’s, includes the stone dolphin sculptures for the Seaman’s Memorial in New York
City (1930), the pediment sculpture for the Department of Labor Building in
Washington, D.C. (1935), and the Second World War battle monument in Thiaucourt,
France.
Based on his reputation, Malvina Hoffman, the prominent American Sculptress,
recommended Stewart to President Jaqua and Millard Sheets when they were looking for
a sculptor for the art department at Scripps College in Claremont California. In
1939 he was appointed head of the sculpture program at Scripps College where he and
his wife, Marion, stayed until his death in 1965.
Among some of his most visible works in California are the 14’ façade figures on the
Los Angeles County Courthouse (1956), and the 16’ heroic stone figures on the
Scottish Rites Temple on Wilshire Boulevard (1960). Other well-known examples of his
work include: the free-standing Christ the Teacher (1943) at Claremont Community
Church; the bronze fawn that drinks from the fountain in front of the Lang Gallery
at Scripps College (1952); the large standing bronze figures on the exterior of the
Home Savings and Loan Building in Pasadena (1961); and Man and Nature (1965), which
stands in front of the Humanities Building at Scripps College. Shortly before his
death, his 9’ bronze statue “Refugees” was dedicated in Gouda, Holland (1964).
| 1900 | Born in London, England, on April 9. |
| 1907 | Family moved from London and settled in the United States. |
| 1931 | Created Decorative Panels for 333 Michigan Avenue Building, Chicago, Illinois |
| 1931 | Created Baptristrey Doors, St. Bartholomew’s Church, NYC |
| 1934 | Created Municipal Auditorium Relief’s, Kansas City, Missouri [WPA] |
| 1934 | Created Pediment, Department of Labor Building, Washington, D.C. |
| 1934 | Created Eagle Sun Dial for American Battle Monument, U.S. Cemetery, Thiaucourt, France |
| 1935 | Panels and Eagle, U.S. Mint, San Francisco, California |
| 1939 | Appointed head of the sculpture program at Scripps College, Claremont, California |
| 1939 | Created panels for the Nassau County Court House, Mineola, NY |
| 1946 | Created panels on Home Builder’s Savings and Loan Association, Pomona California |
| 1952 | Created Animal Figures in Brick Wall at Los Angeles County Fair Grounds at Pomona |
| 1953 | Created Relief’s for Life Science Building, UCLA, Los Angeles, California |
| 1956 | Created 14’ Figures for Los Angeles County Court House, Los Angeles, California |
| 1958 | Created Eagle and Panels for Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial, Los Angeles, California |
| 1960 | Created 16’ Heroic Stone Figures for Scottish Rite Temple, Los Angeles, California |
| 1964 | 9’ Bronze Statue “Refugees” Dedicated in Gouda, Holland |
| 1965 | Died in Claremont, California, on September 23. |
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Albert Stewart Photograph Collection contains drawings and photographs of
sculptures created by Stewart documenting his career as one of America’s foremost
modern sculptors. His sculptures adorn the interiors and exteriors of numerous
museums, government institutions, memorials, churches, schools, and universities.
The collection consists solely of photographic material and covers the years 1930 to
1965 with the bulk of the material ranging from 1933 to 1935.
The largest series in the collection consists of oversize photographs of sculptures
created by Albert Stewart.
The collection is organized into three series:
- Series 1. Photographs, 1930-1965, 1.0 cubic ft
- Series 2. Oversize Photographs, 1930-1961. 17 cubic feet
- Series 3. Exhibition Posters, n.d. 1.5 cubic feet
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Stewart, Albert, 1900-1965
Sculpture, American
Drawings
Photographs
Sketches