David K. Rubins

David Kresz Rubins was born in Minneapolis in 1902. As a young man, he was apprenticed to James Earle Fraser before moving on to study at Dartmouth College and the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York. He then traveled to Europe to study in Paris, where he was awarded the Paris Prize in Sculpture. He was a fellow of the American Academy in Rome from 1928 to 1931. Rubins had two sons, James A. Rubins and Harry Rubins. A left-wing Democrat, he was a member of the John Reed Club and he once tried to create a teachers' union. In Rubins' later years, illness made it difficult for him to continue to work in his studio, though he still made daily trips to the Herron School. He died in New York City on Wednesday, March 6, 1985 at the age of 82. Soon after his death, donors began sending in checks to be used for a scholarship fund in his name.

1953 – The Human Figure: An Anatomy for Artists. Rubins wrote it because it was much needed in the field. It was and is still used as a text book in many schools. Rubins used Gray's Anatomy to reference the scientific names of muscles/anatomy.

He continued his work as a sculptor during his tenure at the Herron Art Institute and later Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. In 1944, his plaster bust Portrait of Evans Woolens was featured in the 37th Annual Exhibition of Works by Indiana Artists. He subsequently gave it to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. In 1962, he created the statue of Young Abe Lincoln which adorns the lawns at the Indiana State House. In 1964, he created the bust of former governor Henry F. Schricker which resides in an alcove inside the Indiana State House. During the 1960s he also created the sculpture Stumbling Man for a state-sponsored competition to honor the memory of Indiana coal miners. In 1979 it came to the Indianapolis Museum of Art and it was formally dedicated there in 1981.

He joined the faculty of the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis in 1935. While there, he taught drawing, anatomy, ceramics, and sculpture and he was director of the sculpture program for 45 years. In 1943 he served on a jury judging an Indiana state competition wherein high school students designed posters to aid in the control of cancer During his time as an academic in 1953, he authored a textbook, The Human Figure: An Anatomy for Artists, which became a standard text for art students. The text was also published in Germany After retiring as director of the sculpture program, he continued to work with the Herron School of Art as Sculptor in Residence at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

In 1924, Rubins was awarded the Paris Prize in Sculpture. In 1928, he was awarded the Prix de Rome. In 1943, his war poster won honorable mention in national competition. He was also awarded the Grant and Sculpture Award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1973, the alumni of Herron School of Art honored him with "David K. Rubins Day," including a dinner party and the announcement of two scholarships in his name. The alumni honored him again in 1978 with a special exhibition of his work. In 1983 he was one of six winners of the Indiana Arts Award given by the Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana Advocates for the Arts.

David Kresz Rubins (1902–1985) was an American sculptor and professor. He taught at Herron School of Art in Indianapolis and his various works adorn the Indiana State House, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the National Archives building in Washington, D.C.