1867 - 1875 Europe

Saint-Gaudens, who wanted a formal art education, worked days and took art classes at night At the end of his apprenticeship he left for Paris, arriving with $100 saved from his wages. He took courses in sculpture modeling, composition, and execution, ornamental design, anatomy, and drawing from life and casts of ancient sculpture. Living frugally and working at a cameo cutting job, he was able to stay in Paris and study first at the Ecole Gratuite de Dessin and then at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts from 1867 to 1870, when he left to study architecture and classical art in Rome until 1873.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Mary, Queen of Scots, cameo (Williams version), 1873, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, New Hampshire