George S. Stuart

As a young boy, Stuart traveled to Europe and became increasingly interested in historical architecture. In his teens, he constructed a scale model of the French Palace of Versailles[1] and began to experiment with the human form after receiving an articulated marionette as a gift. Illness deterred him for a time, but he persisted and enrolled in first Georgetown University then the American University in Washington, D.C. where he studied history, economics, languages and international law to prepare to become a Foreign Service Officer. But his academic career was frustrated by dyslexia, a condition not recognized in those days.[2]

Then, in the early 1950s, he was offered a position at the Smithsonian Institution, where he sculpted figures of inventors to accompany patent models exhibited there. As a member of the Smithsonian staff, he also participated in the development of the Presidents' Wives exhibit.

After Stuart completed a degree in Fine Arts at the University of California in Santa Barbara, where he found himself drawn to theater arts,[3] he began touring the country performing historical monologues accompanied by eight to twelve of his figures.[4] He was represented by the Samuel Horton Brown Agency in Beverly Hills, joining the firm's other clients including Margaret Meade.[5] Focusing on power and political intrigue, Stuart developed over 20 programs using his historical figures as visual aids.[6]

When Stuart moved to Ojai, California in 1959, he opened The Gallery of Historical Figures and began teaching workshops on figural construction, costuming and sculpting faces. In 1991, the city of Ojai presented Stuart with its Lifetime Achievement in the Arts award. He also has been recognized by the United States Congress.

Each historical figure begins with a jointed iron wire skeleton in quarter scale that is designed to move like the treasured marionette from Stuart's childhood. The head is modeled separately, beginning with a skull structure built up with clay then molded in plastic. The facial features are defined using a jeweler's loup and fine instruments. Blown glass eyes are then inserted from the inside. [6] The body is then built up with papier maché, cotton fiber, and styrofoam enclosed with wool felt skin. After he chooses an appropriate pose, the figure is then finished with a custom plastique that Stuart developed himself after years of experimentation to achieve the look of life-like skin.[5]

He has created more than 400 "Historical Figures" in groups to complement his performances.[7] The groups include, American Revolutionary and Civil Wars (Samuel Adams to Abraham Lincoln), English Monarchies (Henry VII to Edward VII), Bourbon Dynasty (Henry IV to Charles X), Czarist Russia (Ivan IV to Joseph Stalin) Manchu Dynasty (Nurhaci to Mao Tse-tung, Renaissance & Reformation (various rulers and clergy), Conquest of the Americas (Columbus to John Fremont), Really Awful People (including Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Attila the Hun, Vlad the Impaler, Nero, Ivan the Terrible, and the Borgias), Warriors of the Ages, Germanic Myth & Legend (northern pantheon) and his earliest works.

One of his most popular presentations focused on history's "Really Awful People" group.

"The story begins with a massacre and ends with a slaughter," Stuart observed. "In between we have murder, rape, sex violence, intrigue and political chicanery."

Abraham Lincoln circa 1832

Stuart reported his most popular figurines are those of Lincoln. He produced five different versions of Lincoln from his early years to his appearance at the time of the 16th president's assassination.[2] His figures from the American Revolutionary and Civil War periods were featured in the exhibit "Revolution and Rebellion: Wars, Words and Figures." at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in September, 2011.[8]

Stuart's quest for historical accuracy led him to import specially-scaled chain mail, embroidered silks,[9] and Icelandic sheepskin for life-like hair.[2] Stuart fabricated historically accurate metal helmets, armor, weapons, crowns, and accessories.[9]

More than 200 of Stuart's Historical Figures now reside in the permanent collections of the Museum of Ventura County where a special gallery was constructed for their display. Other figures are in the collections of the Naples Museum of Art in Naples, Florida. Temporary exhibits have been held at the Pasadena Museum of History, the Ojai Valley Museum of History and Art, the Oxnard Library, California State University, and the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum.

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  Comanche Warrior
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  James I
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  Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Madame de Pompadour
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  John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
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  Norman Knight
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  French King Louis XIV
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  King George III in Robes of State
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  Gilles de Retz
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  Aztec Leopard Warrior
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  Tsar Boris Godunov
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  Chinese Emperor Chien Lung
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  King Charles II
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  Zulu Warrior
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  Sir John Burgoyne
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  Abraham Lincoln
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  Alexander Hamilton
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  Cesare Borgia
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  Alexander II Nikolaevitch
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  Chumash Family
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  Gaston D'Orleans
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  General Ulysses S. Grant
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  Tsar Nicholas II Romanov and Tsarevich Alexei
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  Regent Philippe d'Orleans
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  Queen Marie Antoinette with her children
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  King Louis XVI in 1780
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  King Louis XV in 1745
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  Empress Catherine II of Russia
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  Russian Empress Anna Ivanova
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  King Henry VIII
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  Chinese Bannerman

Wikimedia Commons has media related to George S. Stuart Gallery of Historical Figures.

• Green, Lee (2004). George Stuart's Historical Figures. Ventura County Museum of History and Art. ISBN 0-9729361-2-2.
• Kettmann, Kevin (2004). "The Art of History, The Fascinating Figurines of George Stuart". Ventura Magazine (Fall).

• Historical Figures of George Stuart (official website).
• Introducing George Stuart and his Historical Figures (video).