Maurice Prost Biography
Maurice Gaston Elie Joseph Prost was an artist born on March 13 in Paris. He studied under the sculptor Léopold Morice and in 1913 took an apprenticeship at the studio of Gauthier, a Parisian goldsmith. Unfortunately, the outbreak of the First World War interrupted his training, so Prost was forced to enlist and was sent to the front at Argonne, where he suffered the loss of his left arm, rendering him unable to continue his profession as a goldsmith. Despite everything, he dedicated himself to sculpture, in fact, he went every day to the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier to draw and model animals. In 1927, thanks to the proximity of a glass processing laboratory, Maurice Prost had the idea of using a compressed air machine and a pneumatic hammer, which he adapted and developed, making it easier for him to carve directly without any help. Prost presented his “Black Panther” at the 1931 Colonial Exhibition and subsequently created numerous monumental sculptures for cities and institutions. Eventually, he became a full professor of drawing at the Paris Chamber of Commerce, teaching for 22 years. Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1933, he was promoted in the order to Officer of the Legion of Honor for the Arts in 1957. Maurice Prost died on 3 July 1967 in Paris.
