Evelyn Beatrice Longman
Encyclopedia
Evelyn Beatrice Longman (1874-1954) was the first woman sculptor to be elected a full member of the National Academy of Design
in 1919. Her allegorical figure works were commissioned as monuments and memorials, adornment for public buildings, and attractions at art expositions in early 20th-century America.
. At the age of 14, she earned a living working in a Chicago dry-goods store. At the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
, which she visited when she was almost 19 years old, Longman was inspired to become a sculptor. She attended Olivet College
in Michigan for one year but returned to Chicago
to study anatomy
, drawing, and sculpture. Working under Lorado Taft at the Art Institute of Chicago
, she earned her diploma for the four-year course of study in only two years.
In 1901, Longman moved to New York, where she studied with Hermon Atkins MacNeil
and Daniel Chester French
. Her debut in large-scale public sculpture came at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, where her male figure, Victory, was deemed so excellent in invention and technique that it was given a place of honor on the top of the Fair's centerpiece building, Festival Hall. Recently, a smaller Bronze version, a statuette dated 1903, was located and in 2007 was sold at auction for $7,800--a small price for a piece representing the hallmark of a celebrated sculptor.
and Henry Bacon
by creating some of the sculptural decorations for the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington, D.C. In 1923, she won the Watrous Gold Medal for best sculpture.
She is also often noted for sculpting the hands on the Lincoln Memorial, although this is not confirmed to be true. She assisted with many aspects of the Lincoln Memorial, but French himself modeled the hands.
In 1918, she was hired by Nathaniel Horton Batchelder, the Headmaster of the Loomis Chaffee School, to sculpt a memorial to his late wife. Two years later she married Batchelder, moving to Connecticut at the height of her career. During the next 30 years, Longman completed dozens of commissions, both architectural and independent works, throughout the United States. She was an active member of the Loomis Chaffee School, donating countless items that are currently held still at the school as well as in the surrounding town.
After her husband's retirement, Evelyn moved her studio to Cape Cod
, where in 1954 she died as one of the most respected and honored sculptors in American history.
It is rumored that after her death, her husband scattered her ashes at Chesterwood
, the home and studio of her former employer and mentor, Daniel Chester French
.
. The young grandchildren of August Heckscher
posed for the three small figures that serve as its focal point. An inscription around the rim reads, "Forever wilt thou love and they be fair."
An example of her work, "The Craftsman", also known as "Industry" can be seen outside the main entrance of A. I. Prince Technical High School
in Hartford, Connecticut
(formerly known as Hartford Trade School). The statue, completed in 1931, was placed there in 1960 in honor of the industrial pioneers of Hartford. Sitting on a 16,000 pound granite foundation, the approximately 1,950 pound bronze sculpture remains an inspiration to students today.
as related on her maternal line.
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
in 1919. Her allegorical figure works were commissioned as monuments and memorials, adornment for public buildings, and attractions at art expositions in early 20th-century America.
Early life and education
The daughter of Edwin Henry and Clara Delitia (Adnam) Longman, she was born on a farm near Winchester, OhioWinchester, Ohio
Winchester is a village in Adams County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,025 at the 2000 census. The name of the surrounding township is also Winchester.-Geography:Winchester is located at ....
. At the age of 14, she earned a living working in a Chicago dry-goods store. At the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
, which she visited when she was almost 19 years old, Longman was inspired to become a sculptor. She attended Olivet College
Olivet College
Olivet College is a coeducational, liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan, United States, south of Lansing and west of Detroit. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, and accredited by the North Central...
in Michigan for one year but returned to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to study anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
, drawing, and sculpture. Working under Lorado Taft at the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, she earned her diploma for the four-year course of study in only two years.
In 1901, Longman moved to New York, where she studied with Hermon Atkins MacNeil
Hermon Atkins MacNeil
Hermon Atkins MacNeil was an American sculptor born in Chelsea, Massachusetts.He was an instructor in industrial art at Cornell University from 1886 to 1889, and was then a pupil of Henri M. Chapu and Alexandre Falguière in Paris...
and Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor. His best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Life and career:...
. Her debut in large-scale public sculpture came at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, where her male figure, Victory, was deemed so excellent in invention and technique that it was given a place of honor on the top of the Fair's centerpiece building, Festival Hall. Recently, a smaller Bronze version, a statuette dated 1903, was located and in 2007 was sold at auction for $7,800--a small price for a piece representing the hallmark of a celebrated sculptor.
Career
Longman's 1915 "Genius of Electricity," a gilded male nude, was commissioned by AT&T Corporation for the top of their corporate headquarters in downtown Manhattan. The figure was reproduced on Bell Telephone directories across the country from 1938 until the 1960s. Around 1920, Longman assisted Daniel Chester FrenchDaniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor. His best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Life and career:...
and Henry Bacon
Henry Bacon
Henry Bacon was an American Beaux-Arts architect who is best remembered for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. , which was his final project.- Education and early career :...
by creating some of the sculptural decorations for the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
in Washington, D.C. In 1923, she won the Watrous Gold Medal for best sculpture.
She is also often noted for sculpting the hands on the Lincoln Memorial, although this is not confirmed to be true. She assisted with many aspects of the Lincoln Memorial, but French himself modeled the hands.
In 1918, she was hired by Nathaniel Horton Batchelder, the Headmaster of the Loomis Chaffee School, to sculpt a memorial to his late wife. Two years later she married Batchelder, moving to Connecticut at the height of her career. During the next 30 years, Longman completed dozens of commissions, both architectural and independent works, throughout the United States. She was an active member of the Loomis Chaffee School, donating countless items that are currently held still at the school as well as in the surrounding town.
After her husband's retirement, Evelyn moved her studio to Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
, where in 1954 she died as one of the most respected and honored sculptors in American history.
It is rumored that after her death, her husband scattered her ashes at Chesterwood
Chesterwood (Massachusetts)
Chesterwood was the summer estate and studio of American sculptor Daniel Chester French in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.The estate covers of forest and field in the Berkshires, with French's summer home, studio, and garden dating from the 1920s...
, the home and studio of her former employer and mentor, Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor. His best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Life and career:...
.
Major works
- Victory (1904), commissioned for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis.
- Great Bronze Memorial (1909) chapel doors at the United States Naval AcademyUnited States Naval AcademyThe United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
, Annapolis. - Allegorical sculpture for the Foster Mausoleum and bronze bas-relief for Timothy Murphy memorial, Upper Middleburgh CemeteryUpper Middleburgh CemeteryUpper Middleburgh Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at Middleburgh in Schoharie County, New York. It was incorporated in 1865 and contains an estimated 4,000 internments. The most notable structure is the Foster mausoleum, designed by noted architect Henry Bacon in the early 1900s and...
, Middleburgh, New YorkMiddleburgh, New YorkMiddleburgh is the name of some settlements in New York, United States:* Middleburgh , New York, in Schoharie County* Middleburgh , New York, also in Schoharie County...
- Horsford doors (1910), the front entrance of Clapp Library at Wellesley College.
- Wreaths, eagles and inscriptions (1914) on the inner walls of the Lincoln MemorialLincoln MemorialThe Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
. - Genius of Electricity (1915), later known as Electricity and The Spirit of Communication, commissioned for the top of the AT&T skyscraper in New York City, later relocated to Bedminster, NJ. It now stands in the lobby AT&T's downtown Dallas headquarters.
- Senator Allison Monument (1916) Des Moines, Iowa.
- Fountain of Ceres (1915) in the Court of the Four Seasons at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco.
- L'Amour (1915) in the Palace of Fine ArtsPalace of Fine ArtsThe Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, is a monumental structure originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in order to exhibit works of art presented there. One of only a few surviving structures from the Exposition, it is the only one still...
at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition San Francisco. - Aenigma.
- Illinois Centennial MonumentIllinois Centennial MonumentIllinois Centennial Memorial Column, Logan Square Monument or Illinois Centennial Monument is a public monument in the Logan Square community area and the Chicago Landmark and National Register of Historic Places-listed Logan Square Boulevards District...
(1918), Chicago, IL. - Spirit of Victory (1926), Spanish-American WarSpanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
Memorial in Bushnell Park, Hartford, Connecticut. - Victory of Mercy (1947), Loomis Chaffee School, Windsor, CT.
- Edison (1952), 12.5 foot bronze portrait bust of Thomas Alva Edison in Washington D.C. at the Naval Research Laboratory.
Other works
In 1920, Longman carved the marble fountain in the lobby of the Heckscher Museum of ArtHeckscher Museum of Art
The Heckscher Museum of Art is named after its benefactor, August Heckscher, who in 1920 donated 185 works of art to be housed in a new Beaux-Arts building located in Heckscher Park, in Huntington, New York...
. The young grandchildren of August Heckscher
August Heckscher
-Biography:Born in Hamburg, Germany, Heckscher emigrated to the United States in 1867. He initially worked in his cousin Richard Heckscher's coal mining operation as a laborer, studying English at night. Several years later he formed a partnership with his cousin under the name of Richard Heckscher...
posed for the three small figures that serve as its focal point. An inscription around the rim reads, "Forever wilt thou love and they be fair."
An example of her work, "The Craftsman", also known as "Industry" can be seen outside the main entrance of A. I. Prince Technical High School
A.I. Prince Technical High School
A.I. Prince Technical High School is a technical high school located in Hartford, Connecticut. The school is one of 17 technical high schools in the Connecticut system.- History :...
in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
(formerly known as Hartford Trade School). The statue, completed in 1931, was placed there in 1960 in honor of the industrial pioneers of Hartford. Sitting on a 16,000 pound granite foundation, the approximately 1,950 pound bronze sculpture remains an inspiration to students today.
Honors and awards
Evelyn Longman Batchelder was inducted into the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 1994.Noted relative
Longman's niece was the noted Canadian portrait and landscaper painter Mildred Valley ThorntonMildred Valley Thornton
Mildred Valley Thornton Hon. CPA, FRSA was born Mildred Valley Stinson a Canadian portrait and landscapepainter. She studied in Toronto, Ontario and Chicago, Illinois and later married Henry Thornton a Confectioner and emigrant of England.-Education and training:Thornton's early education was in...
as related on her maternal line.
Sources
- Cooper, Thaddeus O. (January 13, 2004). Tour of DC. Retrieved February 9, 2005.
- Ancestry.com's Biographical Cyclopedia of U.S. Women - database online (1997). Retrieved February 9, 2005.
- Samu, Margaret. “Evelyn Beatrice Longman: Establishing a Career in Public Sculpture.” Woman’s Art Journal 25.2 (Fall 2004/Winter 2005). 8-15.
- Sandstead, Lee (2004). EvelynBeatriceLongman.org. Retrieved February 9, 2005.
- The Mercy Gallery. Retrieved February 10, 2005.
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture SIRIS-Smithsonian Institution Research Information System Retrieved February 20, 2007.