Thirty-five years ago, Alan LeQuire, BA'78, became Nashville's most prominent sculptor with the unveiling of Athena Parthenos. In June, he returned to the Parthenon with a new body of work that celebrates contemporary people and an exhibit focused on Athena.
Monumental Figures, a world-premiere exhibition of 24 new works focused primarily on strong women, was displayed from June through Sept. 21 in the Naos (the Parthenon's east room) alongside Athena, the adjacent Treasury and the exterior East Plaza. Goddess in Progress, a behind-the-scenes exploration of Athena Parthenos' development and construction, is on display in the East Gallery of the Parthenon through April 19, 2026.
LeQuire was a 26-year-old graduate student at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro when he won the nationwide competition to sculpt the Parthenon's central, space-defining full-scale replica of the Greek statue. Completion took eight years, including research, modeling and approval by archaeologists. Construction on site at the Parthenon took three and a half years. Athena was unveiled in 1990 as an unpainted statue; gilding and painting took an additional three months in 2002.
"The Parthenon continues to be a valuable example of experimental archaeology, offering both students and scholars the opportunity to experience the art and architecture of ancient Greece firsthand," said LeQuire. "I began the statue of Athena in 1982 and completed it in 2002 as part of that ongoing experiment. The project was the completion of my training as a sculptor, and I feel very fortunate to have had this experience with Greek art and the Nashville Parthenon."
ARTS REMIX
Frye Gaillard, BA'68, was inducted in March into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame, joining writers such as Harper Lee, Ralph Ellison and former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. In December 2024, Rowan & Littlefield re-released The Literary Legacy of Jimmy Carter: Essays on the President's Books co-edited by Gaillard with Mark I. West. His latest book, Heroes and Other Mortals, was released in April from the University of Georgia Press. In May his book The Southernization of America: A Story of Democracy in the Balance, co-written with journalist Cynthia Tucker and published by Georgia, was released in paperback. The hardcover edition published in 2022 was named to NPR's list of best books for that year.
Derek Hartman, lecturer in music at Vanderbilt Blair School of Music, was awarded first prize at the prestigious 17th International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna, Austria. He became the first American-born musician to win top honors at this world-renowned competition, which has been staged every four years since 1960.
The finale was at Vienna's iconic Musikverein Golden Hall on May 24. The three finalists performed with full orchestral accompaniment to a packed house. Hartman played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58, with a cadenza he composed that paid homage to Beethoven's Appassionata (Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57). As winner, Hartman received a cash prize of €30,000 and a Bösendorfer grand piano.
"So much of my life has revolved around a love for Beethoven's music. That's kind of how it started, and that's where it's led me-to this really big career milestone," Hartman says. "There's a sense of inner peace that I've achieved with that, and it gives me optimism
for the future."
