List of American sculptors exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
Sculpture at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition appeared in many places and served many purposes. Some works were shown in special sculpture exhibition halls by well-known artists, but visitors did not need to go inside to see sculpture.
Outside, the grounds around the lagoons and the bridges were decorated with sculptures, mostly made of staff, a temporary material. There were also fountains on the grounds.
Another form of sculpture at the Fair was architectural sculpture on many buildings, also made of staff. Staff is a material that combines properties of plaster and cement and can be shaped into any design. When it hardens, it has an ivory-like surface and can be colored in any tint. This allowed very ornate architectural effects, making the buildings look like real palaces. The pieces are made as plates and joined invisibly, and it is estimated that about 500,000 of these pieces were used on the large buildings alone.
Sixteen bridges crossed the lagoons, and four statues of native American mammals, also made of staff, decorated the piers at the ends of a bridge.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:51 (CET).