Sculpture of Donald Delue

In the heroic tradition of Michelangelo and Rodin, Donald DeLue's (1897-1988) monumental sculpture adorns such sites as Valley Forge ( Washington at Prayer ) and Gettysburg ( Peace and Memory ). His 45-foot-high Rocket Thrower soared above the 1964 New York World's Fair, symbolizing humanity's conquest of outer space. Less well known to the public than Paul Manship, whose assistant he briefly was, DeLue receives a fitting tribute in this biography/critical study, the first monograph on the artist. Howlett, president of Childs Galleries in Boston and New York, knew DeLue well and seems attuned to the sculptor's traditionalist blend of classical myth, national symbolism and spiritualized personification of emotions. Fiery and primal, DeLue's most original work reaches beyond the spring of classical perfection to tap archaic Greek and Minoan sources. (Oct.)