Louisiana Leaders: Notable Women in History

Born in New Orleans, Angela Gregory studied in Paris under the famed French sculptor, Antoine Bourdelle, and then returned to her home city in 1928 to teach at Newcomb College, known for its numbers of young talented women artists. Daughter of Selina Bres Gregory, a well known Newcomb potter, she was one of the first female sculptors in the 1920s; it was considered unusual for a woman to carve stone because of the great physical stamina required to wield a heavy hammer and chisel. She is one of only three women in the country who are credited with three public monuments.

Her first commissioned work was the cement relief work on the Criminal Courts building on Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, commissioned when she was just 25 years old. While in her 20s she also sculpted the Statue of Bienville, the founder of New Orleans, standing with a priest and a Native American on Loyola Avenue. Her other public monuments are the statue to Confederate governor Henry Watkins Allen, in Port Allen, and the John McDonogh monument in New Orleans. She also sculpted eight of the 22 famous men that surround the exterior of the State Capitol in Baton Rouge.

Her collections are housed at the Delgado Museum of Art; St. Gabriel Church, St. Gabriel, LA; La Tour Caree, Septmonts, France; Louisiana State University; and the State Capital among many others. She was artist-in-residence at Newcomb College and sculptor-in-residence at St. Mary's Dominican College, where she began in 1962 and continued for many years. She was awarded the honor of professor emerita from the latter institution. She is internationally known for her sculptures of architectural sculptures and portrait busts and has won a number of prizes for her bronze studies of African Americans.