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Public Art

Olympic Runner

By William Zorach
Category: Statue

About

Henry J. Kiener, a steel executive and lifelong athlete who had been an Olympic high-hurdler, bequested funds for a fountain with an athletic figure. Kiener’s trust fund consulted with art experts who recommended world-renowned Alexander Calder for the commission. Calder prepared an expressive, modernistic model, but with no figurative element. The trust company felt obligated to follow Kiener’s will to the letter, and since the five-year time limit was nearly expired, they hastily selected Zorach to produce a figurative athlete.

Dimensions: 14′ x 4′ x 8′
Year Completed: 1965
Material: Bronze
Owner: City of St. Louis
Donor: Henry J. Kiener


About the artist:

William Zorach

1887-1966

Zorach came to the United States in 1891 and lived in New York and Maine. He studied at the Cleveland School of Art and in Paris, and was awarded the 1961 gold medal for sculpture from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Nearing the end of his career, Zorach created Olympic Runner for the city of St. Louis, but never visited the site of its installation. He produced the bronze runner with a trailing left leg supported by a bronze ‘wave.’