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Elisabeth Gordon Chandler
Sculptor, Educator, Arts College Founder
by Helen Barnett
Remarkable is the word often used to describe Elisabeth Gordon Chandler, both as a person and for her achievements - as sculptor, teacher, and founder of Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, Connecticut. There is also her remarkable longevity: at age 92, she continues to sculpt in her own studio, and to teach, giving weekly critiques of her students' work. . . . . . .
"Lyme Academy College offers an intensive academic approach to sculpting the human figure, being one of the few accredited four-year BFA programs in the country that concentrate on traditional figurative representation in three-dimensions," explains Don Gale, chair of the Sculpture Department. Students also benefit from a complete curriculum of liberal arts courses in Art History (now a minor), Philosophy, English and Humanities, the Social Sciences, Environmental Science, Mathematics, and Careers in Art.
The sequential four-year Sculpture Program begins with yearlong introductory courses in drawing, painting, and sculpture, and emphasizes the fundamentals of life drawing and anatomical studies, the foundation upon which all other skills are based. Working from the live model, students progress through projects in Portrait Sculpture, Figure Sculpture, Bas Relief and High Relief, Ecorché, and Figure Composition, designed to build their observational skills and understanding of the human form. Many teachers believe that "nothing can replace working from life because there is an immediacy, a response from the model, to get what emanates from inside the figure." All students are required to take life- drawing classes each year. . |
