Eugenie F. Shonnard (1886-1978). Born in Yonkers, New York,
on April 29, 1886, Shonnard was a descendent of Frances Lewis, one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence. She was a fragile and lonely child
who spent many hours with the animals she loved. As a young woman, she studied
first at the New York School of Applied Design, but when she first held a
piece of clay in her hands, she knew that she had found the reason for her
life. Over the protests of her doctor and family, she decided to go to Paris
to study sculpture. She said that from the moment she set out for Europe she
became strong and healthy – a testament to her faith and need to create.
In France, she studied with the sculptors Emile Bourdelle and Auguste Rodin.
Back in New York, she worked on many important sculpture commissions before
discovering Santa Fe and making it her home. Eugenie Shonnard’s life
and presence in Santa Fe enriched and brought joy to the many friends who
knew her.
In New Mexico, Miss Shonnard formed close friendships with many Indian people
and an especially strong bond with Maria Martinez, famed potter of San Ildefonso,
who taught her much about working in clay. She also worked in stone, bronze,
wood, and in a material she developed herself, which she called “Keenstone.”
Through the years, Eugenie Shonnard received many honors, including a fellowship
from the School of American Research, and inclusion in museum collections
such as the Luxembourg Museum in Paris. She exhibited work at the Museum of
Modern Art in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy, The Art Institute of Chicago,
the Whitney Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum.
In New Mexico, she carved the reredos at Rosario Chapel in Santa Fe, did
architectural sculpture for the Episcopal church in Las Cruces, and created
a fountain in Truth or Consequences. (At the time, the fountain was for the
Carrie Tingley Hospital for Crippled Children in Hot Springs. The hospital
has since moved to Albuquerque, and the town changed its name. The fountain
is on the grounds of the New Mexico Veterans’ Center.)
Another of her New Deal works is two wooden carvings in the post office at
Waco, Tex. Shonnard also did bronze busts and bas reliefs of many leading
New Mexicans.
In 1976, she was honored by an exhibition of her work at the Governor’s
Gallery in Santa Fe, sponsored by Gov. and Mrs. Jerry Apodaca.
The following statement by Eugenie Shonnard identifies the honest and shining
purpose of her life. “God created form and color in this world. Also
He gave some of us talents for the use of these; therefore, we human beings
must need them in our daily lives. There is perhaps no other answer; and so,
we artists must fulfill life’s commission as artists and craftsmen.”
She died in Santa Fe in 1978.
