Columbus Post Office

320 E. Maple

Sculpture

"R.F.D"

1940

Artist

1905-1971

Born in Baxter Springs, Kansas, on June 13, 1905. His family operated a hardware store and raised horses on a ranch five miles away in Oklahoma. In 1913 Mrs. Gregory moved with her three sons to Pittsburg, Kansas, in order to take advantage of better educational opportunities. Waylande Gregory was enrolled in the laboratory grade school at the State Manual Training Normal, now Pittsburg State University, where he was instructed by supervised student teachers and by faculty of the College. A precocious artist, Gregory became the protégé of Lyle Brower, the head of the art department and professor of drawing and design, and Elsie Bowman, a 1903 graduate of the Chicago Art Institute.

Gregory completed his college course work at Pittsburg by June 1922 then enrolled in the Kansas City Art Institute. Within a few months Gregory accepted a position with the McCartney Ornamental Plastering Company through the auspices of Lyle Brower. Though still very young, Gregory was soon assigned his first major project: the design and casting of architectural ornaments for Strong Hall, the administration building at the University of Kansas. Gregory next found his way to the Chicago Art Institute where he came under the influence of historian-sculptor Loredo Taft and began to work in marble, bronze, and ceramics.

In 1932 he established his own studio in Bound Brook, New Jersey, and turned his attention to creating ton-size, ceramic, statuary.