Bryant Baker
Encyclopedia
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
.
Life and career
Baker was born on 8 July 1881 in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son and grandson of sculptors and stone carvers and the brother of sculptor Robert Baker. He was apprenticed to his father and learned the trade while engaging in mainly ecclesiastic and architectural projects — notably at Beverley Minister and the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
. From 1901 until 1907 he studied at the City and Guild Technical Institute followed by four years at the Royal Academy of Arts. At an exhibition there in 1910 his work was brought to the attention of Queen Alexandra, which in turn led to commissions to sculpt a portrait bust and later a life sized statue of Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and later a bust of Prince Olaf of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
In 1916, Baker followed his brother Robert to America and was rewarded with a number of commissions, particularly portraits.
In 1928 Baker won the public competition over eleven other sculptors to create the Pioneer Woman statue for Ponca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...
. The statue was sponsored by Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
millionaire oilman E. W. Marland
E. W. Marland
Ernest Whitworth Marland was an American lawyer, oil businessman, and politician who served as the tenth Governor of Oklahoma.-Career as an Oilman:...
. Unveiled in a public ceremony in 1930, the statue is 27 feet (8.2 m) high and weighs 12,000 pounds.
Baker continued producing sculpture, both for public exhibition and for private collections almost up until his death in 1970. Shortly thereafter the contents of his New York studio were purchased and moved to the E. W. Marland Mansion (by that time a city owned museum) in Ponca City where it is on display.
Notable works
- Pioneer WomanPioneer WomanThe Pioneer Woman monument is a bronze sculpture in Ponca City, Oklahoma, designed by Bryant Baker and dedicated on April 22, 1930. The statue is of a sunbonneted woman leading a child by the hand. It was donated to the State of Oklahoma by millionaire oilman E. W. Marland...
, 1930, Ponca City, OklahomaPonca City, OklahomaPonca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...
, 27 feet (8.2 m) tall - Portrait plaque of Stephen Tyng MatherStephen Tyng MatherStephen Tyng Mather was an American industrialist and conservationist. As the president and owner of the Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company, he became a millionaire...
, 1930, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Visitors Center - Grover ClevelandGrover ClevelandStephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, 1932, Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, monumental sized - Millard Filmore, 1932, Buffalo, New York, monumental sized
- L' Apres Midi D'on Faune, 1934, Brookgreen GardensBrookgreen GardensBrookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens with American figurative sculptures placed in them, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails through several ecosystems in nature reserves on...
, Murrells Inlet, South CarolinaMurrells Inlet, South CarolinaMurrells Inlet is a small fishing village in Horry County, South Carolina, United States that is considered to be the "Seafood Capital of South Carolina". The population was 5,519 at the 2000 census. It was once primarily a fishing village, but has grown substantially in modern time, along with the... - George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, 1950, George Washington Masonic National MemorialGeorge Washington Masonic National MemorialGeorge Washington Masonic National Memorial is a Masonic building and memorial located in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.. It is dedicated to the memory of George Washington, the first President of the United States and a Mason. The tower is fashioned after the ancient Lighthouse of...
, Alexandria, VirginiaAlexandria, VirginiaAlexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as... - John M. ClaytonJohn M. ClaytonJohn Middleton Clayton was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, and as U.S. Senator from Delaware and U.S. Secretary of State....
, 1934, National Statuary Hall CollectionNational Statuary Hall CollectionThe National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol comprises statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history...
, Washington D.C. (for DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
) - Caesar RodneyCaesar RodneyCaesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover...
, 1934, National Statuary Hall Collection, Washington D.C. (for Delaware) - William E. Borah, 1947, National Statuary Hall Collection, Washington D.C. (for IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
) - Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, erected around 1985, Winston Churchill Memorial Library, Fulton, MissouriFulton, MissouriFulton is a city in Callaway County, Missouri, the United States of America. It is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,790 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Callaway County...
Resources
- Compilation of Works of Art and Other Objects in the United States Capitol, Prepared by the Architect of the Capitol Under the Direction of the Joint Committee of the Library, United States Government Printing Press, Washington D.C. 1965
- Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, Pioneer Women Statues in America, unpublished manuscript
- Proske, Beatrice Gilman, Brookgreen Garden Sculpture, Printed by Order of the Trustees, Brookgreen, S.C. 1943
- various newspaper clippings from the Archives of the Pioneer Woman Museum, Ponca City, OK