# Augustus Saint-Gaudens artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/augustus-saint-gaudens/
Profile generated: 2026-05-31T04:20:41.283Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1848-03-01
- Death date: 1907-08-03
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Beaux-Arts, American Renaissance
- Common media: Bronze sculpture, Marble sculpture, Bas-relief and portrait relief, Numismatic design (coins and medals)

## About Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907) was the preeminent American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation and a defining figure of the American Renaissance. Born in Dublin to an Irish-French family and raised in New York City, he trained in Paris and Rome before returning to establish his career. Saint-Gaudens is best known for monumental public sculptures commemorating heroes of the American Civil War, including the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common, the Standing Lincoln in Chicago, and the gilded equestrian monument to General William Tecumseh Sherman at Central Park. He also created the iconic statue The Puritan and produced influential portrait reliefs, decorative plaques, and numismatic designs. His works helped elevate American public art to international standards and remain among the most recognized civic sculptures in the United States. His home and studio in Cornish, New Hampshire, is now a National Historic Site.

## Common works and media

Saint-Gaudens works most commonly encountered at auction include reduced bronze editions of The Puritan (Deacon Samuel Chapin), the Standing Lincoln, the Shaw Memorial relief, and the Sherman equestrian group. Portrait reliefs in bronze and plaster of prominent sitters such as Robert Louis Stevenson and Dr. Henry Shiff are also well-represented. Single-figure allegorical bronzes like Diana and Amor Caritas appear regularly. Plaster maquettes, working models, and preparatory sketches also surface in sales. His coin and medal designs, especially the $20 Double Eagle and $10 Indian Head gold pieces, are sought after in numismatic markets.

## Market and appraisal context

Saint-Gaudens is one of the most collected American sculptors. Works appear regularly at major auction houses, with 190 records documented in the Appraisily database. Common valuation factors include medium (bronze, marble, plaster), edition size and foundry marks, whether the cast is lifetime or posthumous, subject significance, dimensions, provenance quality, and condition. Reduced bronze editions of major monuments circulate most frequently. Collectors should be aware that authorized reproductions and later foundry casts exist alongside lifetime originals, and that edition numbering practices varied across foundries. Professional appraisal is recommended for attribution verification.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine verified artist identity research from museum, library authority, and scholarly sources with documented auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are available. For Augustus Saint-Gaudens, identity data is sourced from the Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, the Tate collection, and Wikidata.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q770625
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Saint-Gaudens
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500124332
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/54944558/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50030106
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/augustus-saint-gaudens-1891
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/251677