Robert Merrell Gage

Robert Merrell Gage was a sculptor who captured historical figures through expressive statues, fountains, busts, and bas-reliefs.

Robert Merrell Gage was born on December 26, 1892, in Topeka, Kansas. Gage graduated from Topeka High School and worked as a rancher before deciding to study art. He attended Washburn College in Topeka, the Art Students League of New York, and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Afterward, he was mentored by the American painter Robert Henri and Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of the Mount Rushmore heads.

Gage returned to Topeka in 1916 and received his first commission: a memorial statue of Abraham Lincoln to be placed on the Kansas Capitol grounds. At the time, his studio was in a barn behind his parents' house, and material shortages caused by World War I delayed the sculpture's completion. Gage was serving as a sergeant in a field hospital when the sculpture was finally unveiled in 1918.

In 1919, Gage married Marian Morrow, a painter from Topeka who had just completed her studies in Chicago and New York. Gage began teaching sculpture at Washburn College and the Kansas City Art Institute. Gage completed several public works, including the Police Memorial, the Veterans' Fountain, and the Pioneer Women's Memorial. Robert and Marian Gage left Kansas City in 1923, resettling in Los Angeles, California.

Between 1924-1958, Gage taught at the Chouinard Art School, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California. Over the course of his career, he created public works across the state, and served as president of the California Art Club from 1931-1932.

Robert Merrell Gage's sculptural works gave life to historical figures by capturing subtle expressions and details of their biographies. He was inspired by the idea of freedom described by Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman. In 1956, Gage starred in a film produced by the University of Southern California titled The Face of Lincoln, in which he sculpted Lincoln's face in clay while telling the story of his life. The film won an Academy Award for best short documentary, and can be seen today on Youtube: https://youtu.be/kfanza845TY

Robert Merrell Gage died in 1981, leaving a legacy through his monumental public sculptures and countless smaller works. Today, the California Art Club presents the Robert Merrell Gage Award for Best Figure Sculpture in his honor.