This course examines the history of public statuary and sculpture in Seattle and the greater Pacific Northwest region. Twelve sculptors and their artworks are reviewed, including Alice Robertson Carr,Seattle’s first female public sculptor. The lives of each sculptors are also examined, and how each one contributed one or more public artworks to the changing landscape between 1909 and 1962, with photographs and preparatory studies of artworks offered for additional detail. Some of these sculptors discussed include James Wehn, creator of the iconic Chief Seattle statue; Alonzo Victor Lewis and his World War I monumental statues of a “doughboy” soldier; Alice Robertson Carr and her memorial relief for President Warren G. Harding at Woodland Park Zoo; and August Werner’s colossal statue of Leif Erikson which overlooks Shilshole Marina in Ballard. Related sculptures by these artists found in other cities of the Pacific Northwest are also discussed.
