Lorado Taft

Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860 – October 30, 1936) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. A proponent of the American Renaissance movement, his work was concentrated in his home state of Illinois and elsewhere in the American Midwest. His monumental pieces include Fountain of Time, Spirit of the Great Lakes, and The Eternal Indian. His 1903 book, The History of American Sculpture, was the first survey of the subject and stood for decades as the standard reference. With what were seen as progressive views on the subject, he has been credited with helping to advance the status of women as sculptors.

Taft was the father of U.S. Representative Emily Taft Douglas, father-in-law to her husband, U.S. Senator Paul Douglas, and a distant relative of U.S. President William Howard Taft.