From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American sculptor
Simmons, sculptor
Bust of William B. Wood . Located in the Reference Department of the
Lewiston Public Library .
Franklin Bachelder Simmons (January 11, 1839 – December 8, 1913) was a prominent American sculptor of the nineteenth century.
[1]
[2] Three of his statues are in the
National Statuary Hall Collection , three of his busts are in the
United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection , and his statue of
Ulysses S. Grant is in the
United States Capitol Rotunda .
Biography
Simmons was born in
Webster ,
Maine . He spent most of his childhood in
Bath, Maine and
Lewiston, Maine . He attended
Bates College (then called the Maine State Seminary) in 1858. Simmons started sculpting and painting during childhood. He studied with
John Adams Jackson .
[3]
During the last two years of the
American Civil War , he moved to Washington, D.C., and modeled 24 portrait medallions of President
Abraham Lincoln , his Cabinet, and generals and admirals.
[4] The Union League of Philadelphia purchased most of the medallions. In 1867 Simmons received an honorary A.M. from
Bates College and from
Colby .
Simmons went to live in Rome in 1868, but returned several times. Among his portrait busts are those of David D. Porter,
James G. Blaine ,
Francis Wayland , and
Ulysses S. Grant (1886). He is said to have made a female statue of The Wanderer , meant to depict a Jewess wandering in the desert.
[5] He died in Rome, aged 74, and is buried in the
Protestant Cemetery .
[6]
Selected works
Equestrian Statue of
Major General John A. Logan (1892–1901),
Logan Circle, Washington, D.C.
Bust of
Oren Cheney (1861?),
Bates College , Lewiston, Maine. Simmons sculpted this while a student at Bates College.
[7]
Soldiers' Monument (1866–68), Kennedy Park, Lewiston, Maine.
Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1867–69),
Bellingham Square , Chelsea, Massachusetts.
Penelope (marble, 1896),
De Young Museum , San Francisco, California.
[8] Copies are at the
Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Lake Delaware Farm in
Delhi, New York ; the
Detroit Institute of Arts ; and the
Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine.
[9]
Jochebed with the Infant Moses (marble, 1873),
Museum of Fine Arts , Boston, Massachusetts.
[10]
The Promised Land (marble, 1874),
Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York City.
[11]
Roger Williams Monument (bronze, 1874–77),
Roger Williams Park , Providence, Rhode Island. A bronze copy of his marble statue at the U.S. Capitol.
Edward T. Little (bronze, 1875–77),
Edward Little High School , Auburn, Maine.
Bust of William B. Wood (marble, 1860),
Lewiston Public Library , Lewiston, Maine
Bust of Lyman Nichols (marble, 1860),
Lewiston Public Library , Lewiston, Maine
Bust of Admiral
David Dixon Porter (marble, 1876),
United States Naval Academy , Annapolis, Maryland.
Miriam (year?)
Medusa (1882)
Galatea (1884)
Senator
Oliver P. Morton (bronze, 1884),
Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument , Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Seraph Abdiel (from "Paradise Lost") (1886).
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (bronze, 1887), Longfellow Square,
Portland, Maine .
Soldiers' and Sailor's Monument (1888–91),
Monument Square ,
Portland, Maine ;
Richard Morris Hunt , architect.
Bust of
Robert Treat Paine (marble, 1892),
Museum of Fine Arts , Boston, Massachusetts.
[12]
Equestrian Statue of
Major General John A. Logan , cast in Rome by
Alessandro Nelli (bronze, 1892–1901),
Logan Circle , Washington, D.C.,
Richard Morris Hunt , architect.
Alexander Hamilton (bronze, 1905–06),
Great Falls of the Passaic Overlook Park , Paterson, New Jersey.
Valley Forge (Seated Washington ) (bronze, 1910),
Washington Memorial Chapel , Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
[13]
Union League of Philadelphia
Civil War portrait medallions (1865),
Union League of Philadelphia
14 bronze portrait medallions of Civil War generals and politicians (1865).
United States Capitol
Peace Monument (marble, 1877), United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Peace Monument (formerly Naval Monument ) (marble, 1877), United States Capitol Grounds, Washington, D.C.,
Edward Clark , architect.
[14] The figures atop the monument are titled "Grief and History."
Roger Williams (marble, 1872),
National Statuary Hall Collection (representing Rhode Island).
Governor
William King (
marble, 1878 ),
National Statuary Hall Collection (representing Maine).
Bust of Vice President
Hannibal Hamlin (marble, 1889),
United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection .
Bust of Vice President
Adlai E. Stevenson (marble, 1894),
United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection .
Ulysses S. Grant (marble, 1899),
United States Capitol Rotunda . Simmons's original 1894 statue was rejected for the U.S. Capitol. It is now in the
Portland Museum of Art .
[15]
Bust of Vice President
Charles W. Fairbanks (marble, 1905),
United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection .
Francis Harrison Pierpont (marble, 1910),
National Statuary Hall Collection (representing West Virginia).
Gallery
Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1867–69), Chelsea, Massachusetts
Roger Williams (1872), United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Penelope (1873),
De Young Museum , San Francisco, California
Roger Williams Monument (1874–77), Providence, Rhode Island
Edward Little Memorial (1875–77), Auburn, Maine
Governor
William King (1878), United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Senator Oliver P. Morton (1884), Indianapolis, Indiana
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1887), Portland, Maine
Soldiers' Monument (1888–91), Portland, Maine
Ulysses S. Grant (1899), United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Vice President
Charles W. Fairbanks (1905), United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Alexander Hamilton (1905–06), Paterson, New Jersey
Governor
Francis Harrison Pierpont (1910), United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Civil War Memorial in Lewiston, Maine
References
^
"FRANKLIN SIMMONS DEAD. - American Sculptor Designecl Grant and Logan Monuments" (PDF) .
The New York Times . December 9, 1913. Retrieved September 15, 2016 .
^
"American Neoclassical Sculpture" .
Portland Art Museum . Archived from
the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011 .
^
"Charles W. Fairbanks" .
United States Senate . Archived from
the original on February 22, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011 .
^
Dizionario degli Artisti Italiani Viventi: pittori, scultori, e Architetti. , by Angelo de Gubernatis. Tipe dei Successori Le Monnier, 1889, page 480.
^ De Gubernatis, 1905.
^
"Databases of Burials in the Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome" .
Protestant Cemetery, Rome . Archived from
the original on February 7, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2013 .
^ Lillian Whiting, "Franklin Simmons", The Twentieth Century Magazine, Volume 1 (Google eBook) (Twentieth Century Company, 1910), pg. 202
^
"Penelope" . FRAME Museums. Archived from
the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011 .
^
"Ellen Crane Memorial Sculpture Gallery" .
Berkshire Museum . Archived from
the original on February 11, 2006. Retrieved January 27, 2006 .
^
"Jochebed (Mother of Moses) | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston" . Mfa.org . Retrieved September 15, 2016 .
^
"Collection | The Metropolitan Museum of Art" . Metmuseum.org . Retrieved September 15, 2016 .
^
"Portrait Bust of Robert Treat Paine | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston" . Mfa.org . Retrieved September 15, 2016 .
^ Gobetz, Wally.
"Pennsylvania - Valley Forge: Washington Memorial Chapel - …" .
Flickr . Retrieved September 15, 2016 .
^
"The Peace Monument | Architect of the Capitol | United States Capitol" . Aoc.gov . Retrieved September 15, 2016 .
^
"Ulysses S. Grant, (sculpture)" . Siris-artinventories.si.edu . Retrieved September 15, 2016 .
External links
International National Artists Other