Robert A. Weinman, 1915-2003

Just got this from National Sculpture Society:

Robert Alexander Weinman, FNSS, 1915 - 2003


Distinguished sculptor Robert Alexander Weinman died on September 7 at=20
the age of 88. The cause was congestive heart failure. He died at his=20
home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Mr. Weinman was born in New York City in 1915, and grew up surrounded by =

sculpture, as his father was the well-known sculptor Adolph A. Weinman=20
(1870-1952). He attended the National Academy of Design and the Art=20
Students League as a young man, where he studied with several of this=20
country=92s finest sculptors, including Edward McCartan, Chester Beach,=20
Lee Lawrie and Paul Manship. He apprenticed with C. Paul Jennewein,=20
James Earle Fraser and Joseph Kiselewski, in addition to working in his=20
father=92s studio.

Mr. Weinman enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942, and worked as a=20
photographer at several continental air bases. While he was occupied as=20
a photographer, he continued to sculpt wherever and whenever he could.=20
He created a bronze memorial to the army fliers, Morning Mission, which=20
now stands at the Tulsa Municipal Airport in Oklahoma. After his=20
discharge from the Air Corps in 1945, he married his fianc=E9e Jane=20
Morrison, and shared his father=92s studio in Forest Hills until opening =

his own studio in New York City in 1948. He worked in the city for=20
nearly twenty-five years before moving his studio and family to Bedford, =

New York, where he was a longtime resident until he and his wife retired =

to North Carolina in 1998.

His skill at relief modeling led to the creation of over 100=20
commissioned medals throughout his career, as well as numerous awards.=20
The Salvation Army and the Order of Elks both commissioned him to do=20
their centennial medals. He was chosen to create a medal depicting James =

Madison for the U.S. Capitol Historical Society=92s Bicentennial of the=20
U.S. Constitution series, as well as a 3 foot diameter portrait of=20
Madison that hangs in the Library of Congress. Other medals of note by=20
Robert Weinman include the President=92s Medal for the American Institute=
=20
of Architects, the Emerson Thoreau Award for the American Academy of=20
Arts and Sciences, and the Duke Scholarship Medal for Duke University.=20
The American Numismatic Society (ANS) awarded him the J. Sanford Saltus=20
Medal in 1965, in recognition of his outstanding medallic work, and=20
named him Sculptor of the Year in 1975.

In addition to his medallic work, Robert Weinman created a substantial=20
body of sculptural works in the round and was awarded many architectural =

commissions for sculpture. These include works such as the three tympana =

for Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Forest Hills, NY; a large=20
bas-relief on the fa=E7ade of the Brown Memorial Building at the=20
University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and a monumental carved granite=20
eagle for the Federal Building in Buffalo, New York.

Mr. Weinman was elected as a professional member of the National=20
Sculpture Society in 1953, and advanced to Fellow in 1959. He served as=20
Secretary from 1962-1965, as Vice President from 1965=961968, and as=20
President from 1973=961976. In 1985 he received the Henry Hering Art and =

Architecture Award from the National Sculpture Society for his work on=20
the James Madison Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. Over the years he =

served as a volunteer on numerous committees, including the Finance=20
Committee which he served on until 1995. He was elected as an Honorary=20
President in 1996.

At the National Sculpture Society=92s awards dinner in May 1997, Robert=20
Weinman was presented with the Society=92s highest award, the Medal of=20
Honor. He was presented with a hand-lettered certificate which read=20
=93National Sculpture Society proudly presents its highest award, the=20
Medal of Honor, to Robert A. Weinman, with grateful appreciation and in=20
acknowledgment of his unfailing dedication to the National Sculpture=20
Society and the promotion of sculpture in America=94.


--=20
Buzz Huse, MCSE+I, MCSE Iter Sine Fine (Journey Without End)

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