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MacQueen studied ballet between the ages of 6 and 18 and taught younger dancers five days a week to pay for advanced lessons at [[Steeple Arts Dance Academy]]. At 15 she was crowned "Miss Silver Beach" in Destin, Florida, and later won the [[Miss Birmingham]] pageant. As a high school senior she was part of the cast of the [[Town & Gown Theater]]'s touring roduction of "The Boyfriend".
MacQueen studied ballet between the ages of 6 and 18 and taught younger dancers five days a week to pay for advanced lessons at [[Steeple Arts Dance Academy]]. At 15 she was crowned "Miss Silver Beach" in Destin, Florida, and later won the [[Miss Birmingham]] pageant. As a high school senior she was part of the cast of the [[Town & Gown Theater]]'s touring roduction of "The Boyfriend".


MacQueen was inspired to pursue sculpture by a visit to the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. She apprenticed with [[Georges Bridges]] and enrolled in studio art classes at [[Mountain Brook High School]]. She earned a rebuke from her teacher by sculpting a female nude, modeled after her then-pregnant sister. MacQueen graduated from [[Mountain Brook High School]] in [[1967]] and studied fine art and theater at the [[University of Alabama]].
MacQueen was inspired to pursue sculpture by a visit to the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. She apprenticed with [[Georges Bridges]] and enrolled in studio art classes at [[Mountain Brook High School]]. She earned a rebuke from her teacher by sculpting a female nude, modeled after her then-pregnant sister. MacQueen graduated from <!--[[Mountain Brook High School]]-->high school in [[1967]] and studied fine art and theater at the [[University of Alabama]].


After graduating, MacQueen moved to New York City and pursued modeling fir LeBann Originals and Fink Brothers Bridal Gowns. She then moved to Los Angeles, California and attended Los Angeles City College before earning an academic scholarship to UCLA. She earned a degree in sculpture, painting and design, then enrolled in UCLA's graduate school of education to complete two teaching degrees. She began tutoring young actors on film sets and pursuing sculpture in her spare time.
After graduating, MacQueen moved to New York City and pursued modeling fir LeBann Originals and Fink Brothers Bridal Gowns. She then moved to Los Angeles, California and attended Los Angeles City College before earning an academic scholarship to UCLA. She earned a degree in sculpture, painting and design, then enrolled in UCLA's graduate school of education to complete two teaching degrees. She began tutoring young actors on film sets and pursuing sculpture in her spare time.


In the early 1970s, MacQueen began working as a full-time sculptor, residing in Paris, France and Pietrasanta, Italy. She gained experience in the technical aspects of producing cast bronze sculpture and modeled a number of dancers.
MacQueen was married to talent manager Raymond Gonzalez from [[1968]] to [[1971]]. In the early 1970s, MacQueen began working as a full-time sculptor, residing in Paris, France and Pietrasanta, Italy. She gained experience in the technical aspects of producing cast bronze sculpture and modeled a number of dancers.


MacQueen was commissioned to create a full-size dancing figure for the Carolyn Blount Theater in [[Montgomery]], but the subject was changed to a figure of "Puck" from ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' before it was cast. The piece was installed in [[1985]].
MacQueen was commissioned to create a full-size dancing figure for the Carolyn Blount Theater in [[Montgomery]], but the subject was changed to a figure of "Puck" from ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' before it was cast. The piece was installed in [[1985]].


In [[1989]] MacQueen moved to San Luis Obispo, California, where she created one of her hallmark figures, "Persephone". In [[1999]] she completed a 34-foot sculpture entitled "The Past, The Present, and The Future" for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In [[1989]] MacQueen moved to San Luis Obispo, California, where she created one of her hallmark figures, "Persephone". In [[1999]] she completed a 34-foot sculpture entitled "The Past, The Present, and The Future" for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In [[1989]], MacQueen married Paulist priest Donald J. "Brick" Baxter. They couple has one daughter, Mary Elizabeth. They divorced in [[1999]].


In [[2013]] MacQueen was selected to create a [[Four Spirits]] memorial to the girls killed in the [[1963 church bombing|1963 bombing]] of [[16th Street Baptist Church]]. It was installed at [[Kelly Ingram Park]] in time for the [[50 Years Forward|50th anniversary]] of the tragedy.
In [[2013]] MacQueen was selected to create a [[Four Spirits]] memorial to the girls killed in the [[1963 church bombing|1963 bombing]] of [[16th Street Baptist Church]]. It was installed at [[Kelly Ingram Park]] in time for the [[50 Years Forward|50th anniversary]] of the tragedy.


<!--1.4 Personal Life
== External links ==
Elizabeth was married from 1968 to 1971 to Raymond Gonzalez. In 1992, when living in Paris, Gonzalez later became blues singer Nina Simone’s manager until her death. Elizabeth was married from 1989 to 1999 to Donald J. "Brick" Baxter.  He was Paulist Priest and Head Pastor of Newman Hall at Berkeley, California.  They have a daughter, Mary Elizabeth MacQueen Baxter who was also the model for the sculpture Mary Elizabeth at age of 3...part of a 7-piece sculpture for the Laureate School in San Luis Obispo.
* [http://www.macqueenfineart.com Elizabeth MacQueen] website
 
2 Works
 
  2.1 Persephone
Carved from marble, this sculpture of Persephone, Queen of the underworld is meant to capture the delicate details and vulnerability of the goddess.
 
  2.2 Mudra
 
Mudra was inspired in 1980 by Les Uns et les Autres is a 1981 French film by Claude Lelouch.  Jorge Donn was a dancer and model for the sculpture.  The Mudra was also the inspiration for the "flying bronze" technique.  MacQueen got the idea from the displays of her brothers' model airplanes.
 
  2.3 Puck
 
Originally commissioned for the Carolyn Blount Shakespeare Theatre in Montgomery, Alabama, the 8’ whimsical Puck continues to enchant people with his mischievous grin.
 
  2.4 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
 
Comprised of 3 figures, the tallest reaching 17' in height (the others are 12’ and 9’), these bronze sculptures stand atop a stainless steel 17' pedestal making the full sculpture 30' in height.  The sculpture can be found in the rotunda of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee.  MacQueen as chosen from a field of 57 nationally recognized artists to create the sculpture.  The principal work was done in her studio in San Luis Obispo, California.  The casting was done at the Metal Arts Foundry in Paso Robles, California.
 
2.5 Other works
 
The sculpture Ozymandias from the poem of the same name by Percy Bysshe Shelley decomposes in five stages.  The first depicts the Ramses II.  The 13th century ruler holds a set of keys in his outstretched right hand.  Engraved on each key is a civilization that has come and gone, such as Assyrian, Mayan and Phenician.  The sculpture continues in the subsequent four stages.  Each shows the effects of time's passing by the crumbling glory and the mounting piles of sand.  What finally remains are those waiting keys on a bed of sand.  It should be noted that the engravings on the 7 keys change in each stage, listing 35 “lost” civilizations including the United States.  It was created for an exhibition in Paris called the Keys of Knowledge and was facility by art forger, David Stein.  While the sculpture was completed, the exhibition never took place.
 
Gaea is a bronze limited edition depicting a pregnant Mother Earth tenderly birthing the new life within her: our Earth.  She measures 6' H x 16" W x 30" D.
 
Ibis was so named because the sculpture captured model Margie Gillis as if she were a bird in descending flight.  Gillis spent hours posing, at times suspended from the ceiling by holding on to ropes wound around her arms in MacQueen’s studio in Pietrasanta.  Five of nine life-size casting of Ibis were created, one was acquired by the Place des Arts, Montreal.  The mold was destroyed in a fire at Mariani Foundry before all nine pieces could be cast.
 
3 Aesthetic
 
MacQueen's style is contemporary classical.  She has a distinct emphasis on movement.  Although she has done numerous commissioned works in heroic stature, many of her sculptures prominently feature mythological themes, as well as historical and dance figures, specifically from ballet.  She describes her work process as a "messy, hands-on experience."
 
-->


== References ==
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacQueen, Elizabeth}}
*
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Dancers]]
[[Category:Beauty pageant winners]]
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Educators]]
[[Category:Sculptors]]
[[Category:Alabama alumni]]

Revision as of 16:18, 28 June 2013

Elizabeth Smith MacQueen (born November 21, 1948 in Birmingham ) is a sculptor.

MacQueen is the daughter of Giles Edwards MacQueen, Jr and Ruth Elizabeth Brooks MacQueen of Mountain Brook. She was the third of four children and grew up in a small ranch style house designed and built by her father on a large wooded lot.

MacQueen studied ballet between the ages of 6 and 18 and taught younger dancers five days a week to pay for advanced lessons at Steeple Arts Dance Academy. At 15 she was crowned "Miss Silver Beach" in Destin, Florida, and later won the Miss Birmingham pageant. As a high school senior she was part of the cast of the Town & Gown Theater's touring roduction of "The Boyfriend".

MacQueen was inspired to pursue sculpture by a visit to the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. She apprenticed with Georges Bridges and enrolled in studio art classes at Mountain Brook High School. She earned a rebuke from her teacher by sculpting a female nude, modeled after her then-pregnant sister. MacQueen graduated from high school in 1967 and studied fine art and theater at the University of Alabama.

After graduating, MacQueen moved to New York City and pursued modeling fir LeBann Originals and Fink Brothers Bridal Gowns. She then moved to Los Angeles, California and attended Los Angeles City College before earning an academic scholarship to UCLA. She earned a degree in sculpture, painting and design, then enrolled in UCLA's graduate school of education to complete two teaching degrees. She began tutoring young actors on film sets and pursuing sculpture in her spare time.

MacQueen was married to talent manager Raymond Gonzalez from 1968 to 1971. In the early 1970s, MacQueen began working as a full-time sculptor, residing in Paris, France and Pietrasanta, Italy. She gained experience in the technical aspects of producing cast bronze sculpture and modeled a number of dancers.

MacQueen was commissioned to create a full-size dancing figure for the Carolyn Blount Theater in Montgomery, but the subject was changed to a figure of "Puck" from A Midsummer Night's Dream before it was cast. The piece was installed in 1985.

In 1989 MacQueen moved to San Luis Obispo, California, where she created one of her hallmark figures, "Persephone". In 1999 she completed a 34-foot sculpture entitled "The Past, The Present, and The Future" for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee.

In 1989, MacQueen married Paulist priest Donald J. "Brick" Baxter. They couple has one daughter, Mary Elizabeth. They divorced in 1999.

In 2013 MacQueen was selected to create a Four Spirits memorial to the girls killed in the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church. It was installed at Kelly Ingram Park in time for the 50th anniversary of the tragedy.

External links

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