Adrien Voisin

Adrien Alexandre Voisin (1890–1979), was an American sculptor. He is known for his bronze work and for being one of the lead architectural sculptors at Hearst Castle.

Early life and education Adrien Alexandre Voisin was born in 1890 in the town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, to parents from France. He was raised in Newport, Rhode Island. In his early career he studied art under Elijah Baxter Jr. and William Sergeant Kendall at the Yale School of Fine Arts (now Yale School of Art).

He continued his art studies in France at the Beaux-Arts de Paris; the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs; and at Académie Colarossi. He also worked under Jean Antoine Injalbert and Antonin Mercié in France. While studying at Beaux-Arts de Paris, Voisin was using the an art bronze foundry, when he met the sculptor Alexander Calder, who was a few years older. Calder strongly disliked Voisin's work which he wrote about in his journal. After the war he moved to California "for his health", as he had been exposed to mustard gas.

In 1929, he moved to Montana, to "live among the Indians" with the Blackfeet tribe. Voisin returned to Paris in 1930 to exhibit his Native American bronze cast sculptures, which won him awards.

In 1933, Voisin moved to San Francisco, where he purchased the Albion Castle, formally the home of the Albion Ale And Porter Brewing Company and a natural occurring mineral water spring. Over the span of almost 20 years he worked to restore the Norman-style stone building, using the aid of old photographs. In 1964, the property was purchased by the San Francisco Mountain Springs Water Company in order to use the springs. At the time of the donation, the center had planned an entire Voisin Gallery wing dedicated to his work.

Voisin created notable portrait busts, included busts of Benjamin Franklin Irvine (1935), editor of The Oregon Journal; John Two Guns White Calf, a Piegan Blackfeet chief; and Vachel Lindsay, poet. He created public memorials including the Father McQuade Memorial and Fairfax Whelan Memorial Fountain.