THOMAS CRAWFORD: AMERICAN SCULPTOR.

By Robert L. Gale '42. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1964. 241 pp.$8.00.

Thomas Crawford was one of America's first students of sculpture to go to Italy to study, work, and live. In 1835 when young Crawford left Manhattan, America had very little to offer the artist. Italy, however, had wonderful art treasures, inexpensive living conditions, fine marble, models, and a genuine love and sympathy toward art and artists.

In this first full-length biography of Thomas Crawford by Robert Gale we have a clear picture of how Crawford established himself as one of America's first neo-classic sculptors.

This book should be interesting to anyone interested in American history, art historians, artists, art lovers, and students. The book is well written and thoroughly documented with heretofore unpublished letters that give the reader a most authentic picture of the man, his work, his family, and the many important people associated with his life. It is a story of meager beginnings and desperate student days to the securing and execution of important U.S. Government commissions.

One of Crawford's important works is the statue of "Freedom" on the dome of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., a figure 19½ feet tall and the first large bronze figure cast in America. The original plaster was made in Italy and is now in the Smithsonian Institute. Another important Crawford sculpture is the "Washington Equestrian Monument" in Richmond, Va. The description of the creation of this gigantic statue was for me one of the most interesting sections.

Included is a complete catalog of Craw-ford's works, bibliography, and notes.

Assistant Professor of Art, Sculptor