Asked by tt
How was relief sculpture first introduced to the United States?
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If you mean “relief” in the broad sense, it was already present in North America before Europeans arrived: many Native American traditions used carved relief (for example Pacific‑Northwest totem poles, petroglyphs and architectural wood carving).
The European classical tradition of relief sculpture, however, entered what became the United States with European colonists and immigrant craftsmen. In the colonial period relief appeared on tombstones, furniture and building ornament; from the late 18th century the U.S. Mint and medalists produced bas‑relief on coins and medals. In the early‑to‑mid 19th century the form was firmly established and professionalized by European prints and plaster casts imported for study and by American sculptors trained in Europe (e.g., Horatio Greenough, Hiram Powers), and by art academies — leading to large public classical reliefs on civic buildings later in the century.
The European classical tradition of relief sculpture, however, entered what became the United States with European colonists and immigrant craftsmen. In the colonial period relief appeared on tombstones, furniture and building ornament; from the late 18th century the U.S. Mint and medalists produced bas‑relief on coins and medals. In the early‑to‑mid 19th century the form was firmly established and professionalized by European prints and plaster casts imported for study and by American sculptors trained in Europe (e.g., Horatio Greenough, Hiram Powers), and by art academies — leading to large public classical reliefs on civic buildings later in the century.
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