# Alan LeQuire

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{{Short description|American sculptor (born 1955)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Alan LeQuire
| image = Athena Parthenos LeQuire.jpg
| caption = Alan LeQuire at the bottom of his replica of Phidias' Athena Parthenos in Nashville.
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = 1955
| birth_place = [Nashville, Tennessee](/source/Nashville%2C_Tennessee), U.S.
| death_date = 
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| education = 
| alma_mater = [Vanderbilt University](/source/Vanderbilt_University)<br/>[University of North Carolina at Greensboro](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Greensboro)
| employer = 
| occupation = Sculptor
| title = 
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| parents = Virgil LeQuire
| relatives =
}}
'''Alan LeQuire''' (born 1955) is an American [sculptor](/source/Sculpture) from [Nashville](/source/Nashville%2C_Tennessee), [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee). Many of his sculptures are installed in the city.

==Early life==
Alan LeQuire was born in 1955. His father, Virgil, was a physician and researcher on the faculty of [Vanderbilt University School of Medicine](/source/Vanderbilt_University_School_of_Medicine). His mother, Louise, was a painter, art teacher, and writer. The young LeQuire showed an early interest in sculpture. While an undergraduate at [Vanderbilt University](/source/Vanderbilt_University), he studied independently under professor of sculpture [Puryear Mims](/source/Puryear_Mims) and [Middle Tennessee State University](/source/Middle_Tennessee_State_University) sculptor [Jim Gibson](/source/Jim_Gibson). He spent his senior year in France, studied art history, and earned a degree in [English](/source/English_Literature). After a year in Rome learning [bronze](/source/bronze) casting as an assistant to New York City artist [Milton Hebald](/source/Milton_Hebald), LeQuire entered the [University of North Carolina at Greensboro](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Greensboro), where he earned a [Master of Fine Arts](/source/Master_of_Fine_Arts) degree.

==Career==
LeQuire specializes in work of great scale, usually large public commissions. His most famous work is the replica of [Phidias](/source/Phidias)' [Athena Parthenos](/source/Athena_Parthenos) that stands in the [naos](/source/cella) of the [full-scale reconstruction](/source/Parthenon_(Nashville)) of the [Acropolis](/source/Acropolis) [Parthenon](/source/Parthenon_(Nashville)) in Nashville's [Centennial Park](/source/Centennial_Park_(Nashville)). This statue, cast in a composite of [gypsum](/source/gypsum) and [fiberglass](/source/fiberglass) on a steel and aluminum [armature](/source/Armature_(sculpture)), is currently the largest piece of indoor sculpture in the Western World, standing almost 42&nbsp;feet (13&nbsp;m) tall. LeQuire received the commission for the work in 1982, and it was unveiled in 1990 in a stark, white finish. In 2002, LeQuire oversaw a [polychroming](/source/polychrome) and [gilding](/source/gilding) process that brought the statue to an appearance close to what ancient Greek visitors may have seen at the original Parthenon.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

In 1997 LeQuire created a sculptural group of life-size portraits of Tennessee [women's suffrage](/source/women's_suffrage) activists [Elizabeth Avery Meriwether](/source/Elizabeth_Avery_Meriwether), [Anne Dallas Dudley](/source/Anne_Dallas_Dudley), and [Lizzie Crozier French](/source/Lizzie_Crozier_French). The sculpture is on display in [Market Square](/source/Market_Square%2C_Knoxville) in downtown [Knoxville, Tennessee](/source/Knoxville%2C_Tennessee) and is known as the [Tennessee Woman Suffrage Memorial](/source/Tennessee_Woman_Suffrage_Memorial).<ref>{{cite web|title=Tennessee Woman's Suffrage Memorial|url=http://www.womansmemorial.org/|accessdate=2013-01-20|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707040919/http://www.womansmemorial.org/|archivedate=July 7, 2007|publisher=East Tennessee Foundation}}</ref>
LeQuire also created a large bronze relief for the [Tennessee State Capitol](/source/Tennessee_State_Capitol) in Nashville dedicated to the Women's Rights Movement and commemorating passage of the [Nineteenth Amendment](/source/Nineteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) to the [U.S. Constitution](/source/U.S._Constitution) in 1920—Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, thus making it part of the U.S. Constitution.

Another large-scale work is ''[Musica](/source/Musica_(sculpture))'', a bronze statue grouping unveiled in 2003 that sits in a grassy knoll at the center of [Buddy Killen](/source/Buddy_Killen) Circle, a [roundabout](/source/roundabout) where Division Street meets 17th Avenue South in the [Music Row](/source/Music_Row) area of Nashville. Musica is over {{convert|40|ft|m}} tall, and consists of nine colossal nude figures, male and female, dancing in a circle. It is the largest bronze figure group in the United States.

LeQuire is also a portrait sculptor.

Other works by LeQuire include:
* Life-size bronze sculptures at [Blair School of Music](/source/Blair_School_of_Music) and near [Kirkland Hall](/source/Kirkland_Hall) at [Vanderbilt University](/source/Vanderbilt_University).
* A heroic bronze of [Timothy Demonbreun](/source/Timothy_Demonbreun), [French](/source/France) [fur trapper](/source/fur_trade) and an early Nashville inhabitant, was completed in 1996 and now stands on the west bank of the [Cumberland River](/source/Cumberland_River).
* Tennessee's Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, a well-composed grouping of three figures in action, is located on [War Memorial Plaza](/source/Legislative_Plaza), a public plaza and building that houses the [Tennessee General Assembly](/source/Tennessee_General_Assembly).
* 24 bronze [reliefs](/source/reliefs) of Tennessee scenes and [wildlife](/source/wildlife) are displayed on the exterior doors of the downtown [Nashville Public Library](/source/Nashville_Public_Library), designed by [architect](/source/architect) [Robert Stern](/source/Robert_A._M._Stern). LeQuire also has two portrait [bust](/source/Bust_(sculpture))s in the library's Grand Reading Room.
* A life-size statue of [Jack Daniel](/source/Jack_Daniel), located at the distillery in Lynchburg, TN.
* The [Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument](/source/Tennessee_Woman_Suffrage_Monument), a monument in [Centennial Park in Nashville](/source/Centennial_Park_(Nashville)), featuring depictions of [Carrie Chapman Catt](/source/Carrie_Chapman_Catt), [Anne Dallas Dudley](/source/Anne_Dallas_Dudley), [Abby Crawford Milton](/source/Abby_Crawford_Milton), [Juno Frankie Pierce](/source/Juno_Frankie_Pierce), and [Sue Shelton White](/source/Sue_Shelton_White).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newschannel5.com/news/womens-suffrage-monument-unveiled |title=Women's Suffrage Monument Unveiled - Story |publisher=Newschannel5.com |date= 26 August 2016|accessdate=2016-08-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nashvillepublicradio.org/post/nashvilles-newest-monument-celebrates-states-role-womens-winning-right-vote |title=Nashville's Newest Monument Celebrates State's Role In Women's Winning The Right To Vote |publisher=Nashville Public Radio |date= 25 August 2016|accessdate=2016-08-27}}</ref>
* [Statue of Sam Davis](/source/Statue_of_Sam_Davis)

LeQuire was a [Tennessee Arts Commission](/source/Tennessee_Arts_Commission) Fellow in 1986, and received a Tennessee [Governor's](/source/Governor_of_Tennessee) Citation in 1987. In 1990 he was awarded an [American Institute of Architects](/source/American_Institute_of_Architects) Design Award for Athena Parthenos.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://alanlequire.com/ Alan LeQuire's website]
* [http://www.lequiregallery.com LeQuire Gallery]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lequire, Alan}}
Category:1955 births
Category:Vanderbilt University alumni
Category:20th-century American sculptors
Category:20th-century American male artists
Category:Artists from Nashville, Tennessee
Category:Living people
Category:21st-century American sculptors
Category:21st-century American male artists
Category:American male sculptors
Category:Sculptors from Tennessee
Category:University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alan LeQuire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_LeQuire) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_LeQuire?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.