About Charles Despiau
Charles Despiau (November 4, 1874 – October 30, 1946) was a French sculptor and teacher. He also worked as a draftsman, graphic artist and book illustrator. == Early life == Charles-Albert Despiau was born at Mont-de-Marsan, Landes and attended first the École des Arts Décoratifs and later the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts. He began exhibiting at the Salon des Artistes Français, from 1898 to 1900; then at the less academic Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, where he showed from 1901 to 1921, and finally to the Salon des Tuileries, where he exhibited from 1923 to 1944. == Career == French sculptor Auguste Rodin hired him as an assistant in 1907. Despiau worked with Rodin, as well as doing his own sculpture. In 1914, he was drafted for service in the camouflage unit in World War I. He taught sculpture classes for many years at Académie Scandinave in Paris. Returning to making sculpture after the war, his success was established with his one-man show at the Brummer Gallery in New York in late 1927. He died on October 30, 1946, in Paris. Despiau was not a prolific sculptor, preferring to work for as long as it took to realize his vision.
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