Anna Coleman Ladd
Encyclopedia
Anna Coleman Watts Ladd (1878 – June 3, 1939) was an American sculptress in Manchester, Massachusetts, who devoted her time throughout World War I
to soldiers who were disfigured.
Anna Coleman Watts was born in Philadelphia and educated in Europe, where she studied sculpture in Paris and Rome. She moved to Boston in 1905 when she married Dr. Maynard Ladd, and there studied with Bela Pratt
for three years at the Boston Museum School. Her Triton Babies piece was shown at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. (It is now a fountain sculpture in the Boston Public Garden
.) In 1916 she was a founder of the Guild of Boston Artists, where she held a one-woman show. She completed other works with mythological characters,like the satyrs pictured below, and these pieces continue to surface and are sold in auctions today.
Ladd challenged herself on many artistic fronts and wrote two books, Hieronymus Rides, based on a medieval romance she worked on for years, and The Candid Adventurer, a sendup of Boston society in 1913. She also wrote at least two unproduced plays, one of which incorporated the story of a female sculptor who goes to war.
She devoted herself to portraiture and was well regarded. Her portrait of Eleanora Duse was one of only three that the actress ever allowed. I
In late 1917, in Paris, Ladd founded the American Red Cross "Studio for Portrait-Masks" to provide cosmetic masks to be worn by men who had been badly disfigured in World War I. Her services earned her the Légion d'Honneur
Crois de Chevalier and the Serbian Order of Saint Sava.
After World War I
, she depicted a decayed corpse on a barbed wire fence for a war memorial commissioned by the Manchester-by-the-Sea American Legion
. In 1936, Ladd retired with her husband to California
, where she died in 1939.
's "Tin Noses Shop".
The present day correlation to the work of Ladd is the field of anaplastology
. Anaplastology is the art and science of restoring absent or malformed anatomy through artificial means. In the Smithsonian magazine February 2007 article, "Rivaling Nature" - Erin Donaldson, an anaplastologist in Beverly, MA, was interviewed by Caroline Alexander
for a present day perspective on the purpose and benefits of facial prosthetics for patients in civilian sectors as well as soldiers returning from the current conflict in Iraq.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
to soldiers who were disfigured.
Anna Coleman Watts was born in Philadelphia and educated in Europe, where she studied sculpture in Paris and Rome. She moved to Boston in 1905 when she married Dr. Maynard Ladd, and there studied with Bela Pratt
Bela Pratt
Bela Lyon Pratt was an American sculptor.-Life:Pratt was born in Norwich, Connecticut to Sarah and George Pratt, a Yale-educated lawyer. His maternal grandfather, Oramel Whittlesey, was a pianoforte maker and founder in 1835 of the first music school in the country authorized to confer degrees to...
for three years at the Boston Museum School. Her Triton Babies piece was shown at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. (It is now a fountain sculpture in the Boston Public Garden
Boston Public Garden
The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park located in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent to Boston Common.-History:...
.) In 1916 she was a founder of the Guild of Boston Artists, where she held a one-woman show. She completed other works with mythological characters,like the satyrs pictured below, and these pieces continue to surface and are sold in auctions today.
Ladd challenged herself on many artistic fronts and wrote two books, Hieronymus Rides, based on a medieval romance she worked on for years, and The Candid Adventurer, a sendup of Boston society in 1913. She also wrote at least two unproduced plays, one of which incorporated the story of a female sculptor who goes to war.
She devoted herself to portraiture and was well regarded. Her portrait of Eleanora Duse was one of only three that the actress ever allowed. I
In late 1917, in Paris, Ladd founded the American Red Cross "Studio for Portrait-Masks" to provide cosmetic masks to be worn by men who had been badly disfigured in World War I. Her services earned her the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
Crois de Chevalier and the Serbian Order of Saint Sava.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, she depicted a decayed corpse on a barbed wire fence for a war memorial commissioned by the Manchester-by-the-Sea American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
. In 1936, Ladd retired with her husband to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where she died in 1939.
Ladd's prosthetic work
Soldiers would come to Ladd's studio to have a cast made of their face and their features sculpted onto clay or plasticine. This form was then used to construct the prosthetic piece from extremely thin galvanized copper. The metal was painted to resemble the recipient's skin, and the prosthesis was donned with strings or eyeglasses for retention much like the prosthetics created in Francis Derwent WoodFrancis Derwent Wood
Francis Derwent Wood RA was a sculptor, born in Keswick, Cumberland, in England's Lake District.-Early life:Wood studied in Germany and returned to London in 1887 to work under Edouard Lanteri and Sir Thomas Brock; he taught at the Glasgow School of Art from 1897 through 1905 and was professor of...
's "Tin Noses Shop".
The present day correlation to the work of Ladd is the field of anaplastology
Anaplastology
Anaplastology is a branch of medicine dealing with the prosthetic rehabilitation of an absent, disfigured, or malformed anatomically critical location of the face or body. The term anaplastology was coined by Walter G...
. Anaplastology is the art and science of restoring absent or malformed anatomy through artificial means. In the Smithsonian magazine February 2007 article, "Rivaling Nature" - Erin Donaldson, an anaplastologist in Beverly, MA, was interviewed by Caroline Alexander
Caroline Alexander
Caroline Alexander is a cross country mountain biker and road cyclist born in Barrow in Furness, Lancashire. She represented Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney...
for a present day perspective on the purpose and benefits of facial prosthetics for patients in civilian sectors as well as soldiers returning from the current conflict in Iraq.