Lorado Taft (1860 - 1936)
Sculptor of the Debate Memorial
Best remembered for his spectacular fountains, Lorado Taft was the creator of some of our nation's outstanding monuments. Some of his most significant include Blackhawk (Oregon, IL, 1911), The Columbus Memorial (Washington, D.C., 1912), The Fountain of the Great Lakes (Chicago, 1913), The Fountain of Time (Chicago, 1922), and Alma Mater (Urbana, IL, 1929). Although most of Taft;s works are in Illinois, he also had many commissions for statues, sculptures, and fountains throughout the United States.A native of Elmwood, Illinois, Lorado Taft earned a masters degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign. Taft studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1880-1885) and became an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1886. He soon opened his first studio in Chicago and later taught at the University of Chicago. in 1898 he helped to establish the Eagle's Nest Art Colony along the Rock River near Oregon, Illinois. Taft gained fame as an artist and won numerous awards at national and international expositions, including the Columbian Exposition in 1893.Funded by the State of Illinois in 1936, Taft's now famous bronze bas-relief sculpture commemorates the Quincy Lincoln-Douglas Debate of October 13, 1858. Taft attended the dedication on October 13, 1936, less than three weeks before his death.
Marker is on Hampshire Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
