Lee Oskar Lawrie: America’s Machine-Age Michelangelo.

Lawrie was the greatest Architectural Sculptor the world has ever (or never) known).

What’s New?

In September 2024, I revisited Washington, D.C., to attend a centennial celebration of the National Academy of Science Building. Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue was the architect of the building, and Lee Lawrie created its sculpture; a lot of it.

While in D.C., I also revisited the John Adams Building of the Library of Congress. One of the amazing features of the library is a parade, of scribes from history and from many cultures. Click here for more on these figures.

Bas-relief figures depicting mythological and historical figures from various cultures, including Nabu, Tsang Chieh, Sequoyah, Ogma, Tamurath, Cadmus, Thoth, Brahma, Hermes, Itzamna, Quetzalcoatl, and Odin, from bronze doors of the Library of Congress Annex.

Photo from the Washington Evening Star, June 20, 1938

Lee Lawrie

Lee Lawrie

Lee Lawrie at the Locust Lane Farm, in the 1950s

Lee Lawrie at the Locust Lane Farm, in the 1950s

30 Rockefeller Plaza

30 Rockefeller Plaza

Christ at the entrance of St. Thomas Episcopal on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan

Christ at the entrance of St. Thomas Episcopal on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan

Iconic Atlas, by Lee Lawrie and Rene Chambellan

Iconic Atlas, by Lee Lawrie and Rene Chambellan

"The Red Man's Tree of Life" from the Nebraska State Capitol.

"The Red Man's Tree of Life" from the Nebraska State Capitol.

Phosphor and Hesper from the Los Angeles Central Public Library, designed by architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue. Themes by Dr. Hartley Burr Alexander.

Phosphor and Hesper from the Los Angeles Central Public Library, designed by architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue. Themes by Dr. Hartley Burr Alexander.

The Pasadena California World War One Memorial Flagstaff, at Colorado-- and Orange Grove Boulevards. 1926

The Pasadena California World War One Memorial Flagstaff, at Colorado-- and Orange Grove Boulevards. 1926

The Crown of Bok Tower, in Lake Wales, FL, 1929.

The Crown of Bok Tower, in Lake Wales, FL, 1929.

Tank Treads-Motif, from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Bridge, in Harrisburg, PA, c. 1931

Tank Treads-Motif, from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Bridge, in Harrisburg, PA, c. 1931

The International Building, Rockefeller Center, This illustration represents the Four Races of Man and the Industrial Powers of the 1930s; the British, the American, and others. The constellations include the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross.

The International Building, Rockefeller Center, This illustration represents the Four Races of Man and the Industrial Powers of the 1930s; the British, the American, and others. The constellations include the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross.