Sculptures By Jay Hall Carpenter

A professional sculptor since 1976, Jay Hall Carpenter earned his reputation during 20 years as sculptor for the Washington National Cathedral. He created the original carver’s models for over 500 sculptures that adorn the gothic, limestone building in Washington D.C. These sculptures include saints, angels, grotesques, and gargoyles. Many American churches have commissioned his work, as have the State Department, the Smithsonian, Canterbury Cathedral, and the New England Medical Center. Other clients include the University of Missouri at St. Louis and the State of Maryland.

Jay was elected into the National Sculpture Society before he was 30, and he has received multiple national awards for his sculptures. Carpenter has also won numerous sculpture design competitions, including those to create an eight-foot bronze of the late Maryland State Comptroller Louis Goldstein for the State Capitol, and a life-size bronze and granite sculpture of Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog for the University of Maryland, where Henson was a student in the 1950s.

George Lucas selected Carpenter to create the sculptural centerpiece for a new film school at the University of Southern California. This heroic bronze of Douglas Fairbanks Sr. stands atop a decorative fountain in the entry courtyard.

After a national search for sculptors, Saint Anne’s Catholic Community in Barrington, Illinois, commissioned Carpenter to create its twelve-statue program, Community of Saints and Holy People. These powerful, near-life-size interpretations of historic and modern saints adorn a dramatic new space to worship.

Jay’seducation includes studiesat Pratt Institute and The Catholic University of America. He has served as sculptor’s assistant to Master Sculptor Frederick E. Hart, working on Hart’s major projects for the Washington National Cathedral and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.Jayhas also served as Sculptor-in-Residence at the Washington Cathedral, Wesley Theological Seminary, and The Catholic University of America, and has taught at the Art League School in Alexandria,Virginia,Montgomery College in Rockville,Maryland, and The Catholic University of Americain D.C. His sculptures are exhibited in premier fine art galleries in the United States and England.