Francis Edwin Elwell
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor.
Life
Born in Concord, MassachusettsConcord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
, Elwell was orphaned at age four and, according to various sources, was adopted by author Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
or grew up under the care of his grandfather, a Mr. Farrar.
Elwell received his first instruction in art from May Alcott’s sister, Abigail May Alcott, who also taught noted sculptor 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:...
. In 1881, he moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study at the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
and later privately with Alexandre Falguière
Alexandre Falguière
Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguière was a French sculptor and painter.He was born in Toulouse...
. Elwell later studied under French and shared a studio with him in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Elwell’s works are numerous and varied. He exhibited at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and later served as curator of ancient and modern sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York City. Elwell is further represented in the Senate’s Vice Presidential Bust Collection by a marble bust of Garret A. Hobart.
Works
- Seventh Rhode Island Infantry Memorial at the Vicksburg, MississippiVicksburg, MississippiVicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
National Military Park. - Dickens and Little Nell (1890), Clark ParkClark ParkClark Park is a municipal park in the Spruce Hill section of West Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its are bordered by 43rd and 45th streets, and by Baltimore and Woodland Avenues....
, bought by the Fairmount Park Art AssociationFairmount Park Art AssociationThe Fairmount Park Art Association was founded in 1872 in Philadelphia to provide public art in Fairmount Park. The Association now maintains and provides information to the public for outdoor sculpture throughout Philadelphia....
, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. Received 1891 gold medal from Philadelphia Art Club, 1893 gold medal from World’s Columbian Exposition. - Levi P. Morton (1891), marble bustBust (sculpture)A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
in the U.S. Senate. - Death of Strength, (1888), on the tomb of Frederik Hendrik Pont at the cemetery around the Grote Kerk at Edam, Holland
- Bust of Mr. Peter Esselmont, Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland
- Diana and the Lion (1893), Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of ChicagoThe 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...
. - Egypt Awaking, bought at the Paris SalonParis SalonThe Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
of 1896 by M. Gabriel Goupillat of Paris. - Memorial to Edwin Booth, Mount Auburn, Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. - Equestrian statue of General Winfield Scott HancockWinfield Scott HancockWinfield Scott Hancock was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War...
(1896), on the battlefield of Gettysburg, PennsylvaniaGettysburg, PennsylvaniaGettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
. - New Life (1899), Lowell cemeteryLowell CemeteryLowell Cemetery is a cemetery located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Founded in 1841 and located on the banks of the Concord River, the cemetery is one of the oldest garden cemeteries in the nation, inspired by Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
, Lowell, MassachusettsLowell, MassachusettsLowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, property of Hon. Charles Sumner Lilley, called the "Bonney Memorial." (plaster in Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts). - Orchid (1899), owned by Theodore B. Starr, New York City.
- Aqua Viva, property of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
- Andrew McMillan Memorial, Utica, New YorkUtica, New YorkUtica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
. - Kronos.
- Pan-American Fountain (1901).
- Intelligence (1901), in front of New York state building for the Pan-American ExpositionPan-American ExpositionThe Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is present day Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood Ave and northward to Great Arrow...
, 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...
. - Elihu YaleElihu YaleElihu Yale was a Welsh merchant and philanthropist, governor of the East India Company, and a benefactor of the Collegiate School of Connecticut, which in 1718 was named Yale College in his honour.- Life :...
(1901), Yale Club of New York CityYale Club of New York CityThe Yale Club of New York City, commonly called the Yale Club, is a private club in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA Its membership is restricted almost entirely to alumni and faculty of Yale University, University of Virginia and Dartmouth College...
. - Colonel Robert Van Horn, (1906), marble bust, Van Horn High SchoolVan Horn High SchoolVan Horn High School is a comprehensive high school located at 1109 Arlington in Independence, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Independence School District.- School Background :...
, Independence, MissouriIndependence, MissouriIndependence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
Elwell died in Darien, Connecticut
Darien, Connecticut
Darien is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. A relatively small community on Connecticut's "Gold Coast", the population was 20,732 at the 2010 census. Darien was listed at #9 at CNN Money's list of "top-earning towns" in the United States as of 2011...
.
External links
- 1898 article about Elwell by Theodore DreiserTheodore DreiserTheodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...
in the New York Times - 1910 photo of Dickens and Little Nell at PhillyHistory.org
- Dickens and Little Nell at Philart.net
- Photos of Rhode Island infantry memorial in Vicksburg