Rene_Paul_Chambellan

Rene Paul Chambellan

Rene Paul Chambellan

American sculptor (1893–1955)


Rene Paul Chambellan (September 15, 1893 – November 29, 1955) was an American sculptor who specialized in architectural sculpture. He was also one of the foremost practitioners of what was then called the "French Modern Style" and has subsequently been labeled Zig-Zag Moderne, or Art Deco. He also frequently designed in the Greco Deco style.[citation needed]

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Life and career

Chambellan was born in West Hoboken, New Jersey (now part of Union City, New Jersey).[1][2] He studied at New York University from 1912 to 1914, in Paris at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design from 1914 to 1917 and the Académie Julian[3] (1918-1919), as well as with sculptor Solon Borglum in New York City.[2] During the First World War, he was a sergeant in France with the U.S. Army.[2]

A resident of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, Chambellan died in a nursing home in Jersey City, New Jersey.[1] CORRECTION: I am the grandson of Rene Chambellan and NO - he did NOT die in a nursing home in Jersey City. He succumbed to a stroke (after having several) and worked up until his death.[4]

National Shrine of the Little Flower, Royal Oak, Michigan
Gates from the Chanin Building which led to the private offices of Chanin
Eagles on top of the Buffalo City Hall

Selected architectural sculpture

Home Savings Bank of Albany, Dennison & Hirons architects, Albany, New York
State Bank & Trust Company Building, Dennison & Hirons, architects, NYC
Beekman Tower, John Mead Howells, architect, NYC
Stewart & Company Building, Warren & Wetmore architects, NYC
Carew Tower, Delano & Aldrich with W.H. Ahlschlager architects, Cincinnati, Ohio
King’s County Hospital, LeRoy P. Ward architect, NYC
Tower, National Shrine of the Little Flower, Henry McGill architect, Royal Oak, Michigan
Sterling Memorial Library, James Gamble Rogers architect, New Haven, Connecticut

Other works

  • 1921 John Newbery Medal
  • c.1928 Series of five designs in cast-iron depicting historic New York City seals, for the Miller Elevated Highway[10]
  • 1929 Bronze Doors, East New York Savings Bank, Holmes & Winslow architects, Brooklyn, New York
  • c.1930s Tritons, Nereids and Dolphins, Rockefeller Center, NYC
  • 1937 Bronze Doors, Hirons & Woolwine architects, Davidson County Courthouse, Nashville, Tennessee
Caldecott Medal

References

Notes

  1. Staff. "R. P. Chambellan, Long A Sculptor; Architectural Artist Is Dead -- Conceived Decorations for Many Famed Structures", The New York Times, November 30, 1955. Accessed November 24, 2017. "Cliffisde Park, N. J., Nov. 29 -- Born in the West Hoboken section of Union City, Mr. Chambellan attended New York University from 1912 to 1914.... He resided here at 537 St. Paul's Avenue."
  2. personal family knowledge as I am his grandson
  3. "Russell Sage Foundation".

Bibliography

  • Balfour, Alan. Rockefeller Center – Architecture as Theater, New York: McGraw-Hill,1978 ISBN 0-07-003480-X
  • Kvaran, Einar Einarsson Kvaran. Architectural Sculpture of the United States, unpublished manuscript
  • Stern, Robert A. M.; Gilmartin, Gregory F. and Mellins, Thomas. New York 1930 New York: Rizzoli Press, 1987

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