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Eugenie Shonnard

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Eugenie F. Shonnard
Born(1886-04-29)April 29, 1886
Yonkers, New York
DiedApril 5, 1978(1978-04-05) (aged 91)
Santa Fe, New Mexico
NationalityAmerican
EducationAlphonse Mucha, Auguste Rodin
Known forSculpture
SpouseEdward Gordon Ludlam (1875-1955)
Patron(s)Edgar Lee Hewett

Eugenie Frederica Shonnard (1886–1978) was an American sculptor and painter, who found recognition and success in Paris, New York, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Career

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bust of a mustachioed man
Bust of Alphonse Mucha (1907)
Saint Christopher Medal (1915)[1]
The Crane (1920)[2]
sculpture of a woman surrounded by cacti
Maiden of the Desert (1941) [3]

Shonnard began her art studies at the New York School of Applied Design for Women studying with Alphonse Mucha and at the Art Students League with James Earle Fraser.[4] In 1911 she and her mother moved to Paris where Shonnard was mentored by sculptors Antoine Bourdelle and Auguste Rodin, two of the most important artists of the late nineteeth and early twentieth century.[5] Until WWI forced her back to New York, she had been exhibiting in both cities, including at the Société Nationale des Beaux Artes, American Women Artists Association (Paris), National Academy of Design (New York), Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. [6][7]Among notable early sculptures are a bust of her teacher Alphonse Mucha (1907) and a bronze bust entitled "My Friend," of Dinah, the Bronx Zoo's first gorilla, which was gifted to the New York Zoological Society and unveiled by its Ladies’ Auxiliary in May 1915. [8][9] The bronze bust of Mucha, once exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Brooklyn Museum, was melted down to make weapons in WWII.[10]

In 1920, after the war, Shonnard and her mother sailed back to France, where her work resumed and found its way to several French salons and galleries. As an American and a modernist in the small field of young sculptors in Paris, Shonnard's work "found favor among the elect."[11] A 1926 solo show of sixty pieces, mostly sculptural but including paintings from visits to Arizona and New Mexico, was so impressive, a New York critic had difficulty believing a woman could produce such fine work in hard materials. The French magazine, L'Arte et les Artistes, extolled: "Serenity is one of the marked fundamentals of Miss Shonnard's work. . .full of spirituality, grandeur, and love of the ideal. Sculpture becomes for her an illustration of parables written by the Divine on the plummage of the birds and in the eye of gazelles." [12] During this time, Shonnard also lived in Brittany and traveled extensively in Europe, northern Africa, and New Mexico. [13] [10]

In 1926, Edgar L. Hewett, director of the School of American Research invited her to settle in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she was given studio space at the Museum of New Mexico.[14] While in New Mexico she became well respected for her carvings of Pueblo Indians. She traveled to the Pueblos and learned how they make pottery with Maximiliana, the sister of famous San Ildefonso potter, Maria Martinez.[15] Shonnard's Pueblo Indian with Bowl sculpture was unanimously chosen to represent New Mexico in the 1938 exhibition of sculpture at the Architectural League in New York.[16] She had solo exhibitions at the New Mexico Museum of Art in 1928, 1937 and 1954 and at the Roswell Museum and Art Center in 1969.[17] In May 1954 she was awarded an honorary fellowship in fine arts by the School of American Research and Museum of New Mexico.

Shonnard was an early proponent of the "direct carving" style of creating sculpture. She developed a cement material she called Keenstone which she used for both sculptural and architectural work.

Shonnard was a member of the National Association of Women Artists and the National Sculpture Society and exhibited at their 1923 and 1929[18] exhibitions. In 1939 she created wood panels—Indians and Cattle—for the U.S. Court House and Post Office in Waco, Texas, through the Section of Painting and Sculpture.[19][20]

Personal life

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Shonnard was born in Yonkers, New York. She was the daughter of Civil War Major Frederic Shonnard of the 6th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment,[21] and Eugenie Smyth Shonnard, a descendant of Declaration of Independence signatory Francis Lewis.[22]

On July 26, 1933 Eugenie Shonnard married Edward Gordon Ludlam in her mother's Santa Fe home.[23] She was 47, Ludlam was 58. Concerned that marriage would interfere with her daughter's career, Mrs. Shonnard was not in favor of the union, which by published accounts and in the artist's own words, turned out to be a happy and productive one. [24] Ludlam had moved to Santa Fe in 1925, about the time of Shonnard's first visits, and was known about town alternately as a Boston financier or Colorado "mining and oil man."[25][26] [27] Supportive of his wife's career, Ludlam helped with the invention of her sculpting material, Keenstone, [28]and at times with the work of making sculpture and furniture.[10][29] (In the 1940 census, his occupation is reported as "Asst Sculptor.") Together, they created the gardens at their home on Hickox Street. [30]

Shonnard was an active part of the vibrant pre-war and mid-20th century Santa Fe art community. Her contemporaries and friends included Olive Rush, Randall Davey, Jozef Bakos, Laura Gilpin, John Gaw Meem, Gustave Baumann, and Witter Bynner. She continued to work in the Santa Fe studio built by her husband until the end of her life. [31][32] The Shonnard-Ludlam Residence is now home to the offices of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation.

Collections

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Photos referencing Shonnard's life and work may be found in the University of New Mexico Digital Collection and the New Mexico History Museum digital collection. A partial list of works by Eugenie Shonnard follows below. [33]

  • France
      • Marabout, 1923, (granite) Jardin des Plantes, Museum of Natural History, Paris [10]
      • Lapin aux oreilles couchées, 1923 Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges-Pompidou,Paris
      • Marabou; Group of Herons; Le Chat; and Rabbit, Luxembourg Museum, Paris[34]
      • Bust de Femme, 1924, (stone). Private ownership.
  • United States
    • Colorado
    • New Mexico
      • Reredos for "La Conquistadora," 1961 (Keenstone), Rosario Chapel, Rosario Cemetery, Santa Fe
      • New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe
      • Virgin Mary,c. 1962 (carved stone), Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, Chapel, Santa Fe
      • St Joseph, 1962, Sacred Heart of Mary Chapel, Santa Fe
      • Youth in the Desert, 1941, Sandia School, Albuquerque.
      • Maiden of the Desert 1941, (sandstone) New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro
      • The Turtle Pond, 1939, (concrete and tile), New Mexico Veterans Center, Truth or Consequences NM
      • De Vargas Monument, 1973 (pigmented concrete), outdoor sculpture administered by Los Caballeros and the Hilton Hotel, 100 Sandoval Street, Santa Fe.
    • New York
      • His Majesty The Heron and Head of a Breton Peasant, 1925, (bronze) Metropolitan Museum of Art[35][36]
      • Pueblo Indian Woman, (sandstone), permanent collection, IBM, Armonk [37]
      • Hudson River Museum, Yonkers
    • Ohio
      • Two Geese, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland [35]
    • South Carolina
      • Co-Co, 1924, (bronze),Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet
      • Marabou, 1915,(marble), Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet
      • Co-Co (2), 1924, (bronze), Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet
    • Texas
      • Cattle; Indians (Two low-relief panels, Texas gumwood), 1939. Federal Building, 800 Franklin St, Waco [38][39][40]
      • Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon

References

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  1. ^ Designed for the Gorham Company, New York and sold as a pocket piece or "embellishment for motor cars."
    "The Saint Christopher Medal". The Keystone. Philadelphia PA. 23 Nov 1915.
  2. ^ Designed for the Gorham Company, New York and sold as a garden ornament.
  3. ^ "Youth in the Desert" was installed at Sandia School (Albuquerque NM) in 1941. It has since been moved to the campus of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (Socorro NM) and renamed "Maiden of the Desert."
    "New Mexico School of Mines: "Maiden of the Desert"". Living New Deal. Berkeley CA: University of California, Berkeley, Department of Geography. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  4. ^ Rubenstein, Charlotte Streifer, American Women Artists, G.K. Hall & Co., Boston 1982 p. 212, 246
  5. ^ Heller, Jules and Nancy G, Heller, ed., "North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary" Garland Reference Library of the Humanities (Vol. 1219), Garland Publishing Company, New York & London|1995
  6. ^ "The New Salon". American Art News. New York: American Art News Inc. p. 2. Retrieved 15 Mar 2025.
  7. ^ "Eugenie Frederica Shonnard, 1886 – 1978". Reid Hall. Paris, New York: Columbia University. 2025.
  8. ^ Annual Report of the New York Zoological Society. Vol. 20. 1915. p. 149. Retrieved 15 Mar 2025.
  9. ^ Gott, Ted; Weir, Kathryn (June 2013). Gorilla. Reaktion Books Ltd. ISBN 9781780230672. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d RH 2025.
  11. ^ Walter, Paul A.F., ed. (3 Dec 1927). "Eugenie F. Shonnard". El Palacio. XXXIII (22). School of American Research, The University of New Mexico: 546–553.
  12. ^ "Eugenie Shonnard, Sculptor, Does Fine Portrait Busts of the Indians in Santa Fe Visit". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico: newspapers.com. 6 Oct 1925.
  13. ^ "Notes of American Art Colony in Paris". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico: newspapers.com. 18 Aug 1923.
  14. ^ Walter, Paul A. F. (October 1928). "Eugénie F. Shonnard". The American Magazine of Art. 19 (10): 552. JSTOR 23930221.
  15. ^ Loomis, Sylvia. "Oral history interview with Eugenie Shonnard, 1964 February 27-1964 April 9". Archives of American Art. Smithsonian. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  16. ^ Wallis, Ada King. "Eugenie Shonnard Highly Honored". Western Woman - Widening Horizons. 16 (1): 8.
  17. ^ Kovinick, Phil; Yoshiki-Kovinick, Marian (1998). An Encyclopedia of Women Artists of the American West. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. p. 278. ISBN 0292790635.
  18. ^ Contemporary American Sculpture, The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, San Francisco, The National Sculpture Society 1929 p. 293
  19. ^ "U.S. Courthouse – Waco TX". Living New Deal. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  20. ^ "New Deal WPA Art in Texas". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  21. ^ Proske, Beatrice Gilman, Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture: Volume II. The Trustees, Brookgreen Gardens, 1955 p. 267
  22. ^ Proske, Beatrice Gilman, Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture: Volume II. The Trustees, Brookgreen Gardens, 1955 p. 268
  23. ^ "Personals". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 7 Aug 1933.
  24. ^ "Letters, Furniture Given to Museum". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 17 Jun 1979.
  25. ^ "People Coming and Going in Santa Fe". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 30 Aug 1927.
  26. ^ "Million of Asiatics Never Travel 10 Miles from Home, Says Ludlam in Denver Post". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 16 Feb 1932.
  27. ^ It's possible Ludlam simply inherited a gentleman's income from his father, a manufacturer in New Jersey. Based on census records, newspaper accounts, and passport application, it's clear younger Ludlam roamed the west, roughnecking in California and drilling for oil in New Mexico (1902). When his father died, Ludlam took an extended tour of Europe and China. He eventually settled in Massachusetts with his mother but moved to Santa Fe after her death. He maintained an interest in speculation, traveling during the Depression to visit western gold mines.
  28. ^ MacCullum, Cather (11 Feb 1969). "Eugenie Shonnard Turned From Lace When She Found Clay". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico.
  29. ^ "Finds No Place for Statues". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 2 Dec 1935.
  30. ^ Hay, Calla F. (30 Apr 1972). "Paso Por Aqui". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico.
  31. ^ "Albert G Simmses Hosts for Sculptor". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 30 Nov 1941.
  32. ^ Carr, Lorraine (29 April 1974). "It Happened in Santa Fe". The Albuquerque Tribune. Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  33. ^ "SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  34. ^ Contemporary American Sculpture. San Francisco: The National Sculpture Society and The California Palace for the Legion of Honor. 1929. p. 293.
  35. ^ a b CAS 1929.
  36. ^ Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. April 1925. p. 113.
  37. ^ Sculpture of the Western Hemisphere, Permanent Collection. New York: IBM. 1942.
  38. ^ Gambino, Denise (29 Jun 2008). "Art Goes Postal". Austin American Statesman. Austin, Texas. pp. H4.
  39. ^ Larance, Nancy (2006). "New Deal/WPA Art in Texas". Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  40. ^ Hafertepe, Kenneth (2023). Historic Buildings of Waco, Texas. College Station TX: Texas A&M University Press. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
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