An artist of the new school of realism, sculptor Lawrence J. Nowlan is an Independent artist who draws inspiration from the past while working in a modern sensibility of style. At a time when realism is returning to public consciousness in art, Nowlan follows his own path, naturalistic in style but not a copyist of nature. His independence comes from a different route to his vocation.

Grandson of the artist Philip Nowlan, creator of "Buck Rogers", Nowlan was raised in suburban Philadelphia. He studied art and graduated with a BA from Millersville University  in 1987. He came to his interest in sculpture through a chance encounter with the works of Auguste Rodin in Philadelphia. Attracted to the bold, powerful forms of the master sculptor, Nowlan enrolled in night classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1993) followed by an MA at the New York Academy of Art Graduate School of Figurative Art (1996).

While still a student, in 1995 the artist was invited to serve as the Artist in Residence at the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, in Cornish, NH. (a position he held in 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001 & 2002) Work at the Saint-Gaudens site has allowed a close study of the art of this master of the American Renaissance.

Moving to Windsor VT, he has maintained a studio there until the present day. With this background, Lawrence Nowlan has formed a style based on his love of

the essential strength of the human form. Working in large and small scale, he has received a number of important commissions for public sculpture. The National Wild land Firefighters Memorial in Boise, ID was completed in 2000. This monument to the bravery of the crews who are at the front line of fire protection on America's public lands, was followed in 2000 by a more light-hearted monument to Ralph Kramden, Jackie Gleason's beloved character, commissioned by MTV Enterprises/Viacom for the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. This led to a request to create the award for the VH1 "My Music Award" in December, 2000, and work on the ESPN "Espy Award" in 2001.

            Local commissions have included a life-size bronze angel fountain at the Cornish Colony Gallery, and the Windsor VT War Memorial, dedicated on Memorial Day, 2002. Soon after, Mr. Nowlan began a large commission for the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The work includes two massive pieces, a sixteen-foot standing sculpture of Nile Kinnick the 1939 Heisman Trophy winner, dedicated in September 2006, and the second an eighteen-foot long high relief depicting a famous touchdown Kinnick scored in 1939 against undefeated Notre Dame. The piece includes 11 larger-than-life figures and will be unveiled in September of 2007.  Both are part of the rededication of Kinnick Stadium, and will form a monumental composition unique in any setting.

            Current work also includes the design for a monument for the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA., and the creation of a series of bas relief portraits for the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, CA. Mr. Nowlan was chosen to create bas relief portraits for a new Hall of Fame of America’s great chefs and vintners, beginning with Robert Mondavi.

             Most recently Mr. Nowlan was commissioned by the city of Dublin, Ireland to create two relief portraits, one for the town of Carrick in County Donegal, and the other – in a gesture to his unique association with Augustus Saint-Gaudens – a commemorative plaque to be placed on the nineteenth century sculptor’s birthplace in Dublin.

Whether in public monuments or intimate portraits, the sculpture of Lawrence J. Nowlan is rooted in the tradition of the past, but expressive of contemporary spirit as well.    

©  Henry J. Duffy 2007

Excerpt from “The Hood Museum of Art: 30th Regional Art Show”