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Sculpture in the United States
The first American sculptor of significance was the Philadelphian William Rush (1756-1833), who worked in wood. He left a fine full-size carving of George Washington as well as a vigorous self-portrait. His younger contemporaries, however, were studiously copying European examples of the neoclassical school in Italy. Horatio Greenough (1805-52) made an imposing figure of Washington in which he looks more like a half-dressed Roman emperor than the father of his country. Thomas Crawford (1814-57) decorated the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The statue of 'Armed Liberty' surmounting the dome and the bronze doors are among his best works.

Other noteworthy American sculptors;
Henry Kirke Brown (1814-86), John Quincy Adams Ward (1830-1910), Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), Daniel Chester French (1850-1931), Frederick MacMonnies (1863-1937), George Grey Barnard (1863-1938), Paul Wayland Bartlett (1865-1925), Frederic Remington (1861-1909), Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941).

Asian Sculpture
Reports of the splendor of Asian art were brought to Europe by Marco Polo. By the 18th century Europeans not only possessed original ceramics, enamels, and furniture from the East but were adapting Asian designs and skills in their own products. Chinese Chippendale furniture and chinaware are examples. The art of Japan was brought into prominence in the mid-19th century in Paris by the Goncourt brothers, and it was Auguste Rodin who first gave public recognition to the sculpture of India. In the latter part of the 19th century, when artists were seeking inspiration for a newer, fresher art, these sources, together with those of Africa and Muslim countries, provided them with rich material.

Sculpture in India was centered on the worship of Buddha and the three gods who form the trinity of Hinduism--Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Although Siddhartha Gotama, the Buddha, lived in the 6th century BC, it was not until the 1st century AD that the familiar statues of him appeared. The Gupta period, lasting from the 4th to the 6th century AD, produced some of the finest examples of Buddhist sculpture. For the first 700 years of the Christian Era, the Gandhara region, now in modern Pakistan and Afghanistan, produced many examples of Greco-Buddhist sculpture. The Hellenistic influence was introduced following the conquest of north India by Alexander the Great. To Shiva are dedicated the monumental rock-hewn temples of the period from the 5th to the 8th century. The equally majestic sun temples to Vishnu date from the 11th to the 13th century.

The Chinese were master craftsmen and produced fine sculpture, especially in bronze. Although bronze casting existed a thousand years earlier, it was in the Chou period (1122-221 BC) that China developed the art to its peak.

From an article by Jack Bookbinder, former Director of Art Education, Philadelphia Public Schools and by Christopher Lyon, Editor, Department of Public Information, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

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