Paul Manship (1885-1966)

'Lying Doe' was conceived by Paul Manship for the celebrated Paul J. Rainey Memorial Gates at the Bronx Zoo in New York. The entryway project, which now stands as the official doorway into the park, began as a commission for Mrs. Grace Rainey Rogers in memory of her brother. Originally envisioned to be made in iron, Manship's intuition led him to work in bronze in order to demonstrate the sculptural qualities of the animals and gate structures. In 1933 he presented the full-size plaster models in New York for his first large solo exhibition in the city since 1916. Manship rendered the clusters of animals with great precision through carvings in the ears and limbs that provide the present work with strong yet lyrical sensibilities. Manship is recognized for other large scale works installed throughout the United States, including Prometheus Fountain at Rockefeller Plaza, New York, Abraham Lincoln--The Hoosier Youth for the Lincoln Life Insurance Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana and the Woodrow Wilson Memorial--Celestial Sphere at the League of Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.