Helen Farnsworth Mears
Encyclopedia
Helen Farnsworth Mears was an American
sculptor.
, and studied at the State Normal School in Oshkosh, and art in New York City
and Paris
. She was one of a group of women sculptors christened the "White Rabbits" who worked under Lorado Taft
producing sculpture for the World Columbian Exposition. After moving to New York
she studied with Augustus Saint Gaudens, later working as his assistant.
Her most important works include a marble statue of Frances E. Willard
(1905, Capitol
, Washington) that is included in the National Statuary Hall Collection
; portrait reliefs of Edward MacDowell
(Metropolitan Museum
, New York); and Augustus St. Gaudens
; portrait busts of George Rogers Clark
and William T.G. Morton, M. D.
(Smithsonian Institution
, Washington
). In 1904 her "Fountain of Life" (St. Louis Exposition
) won a bronze medal. She made New York her residence and exhibited there and in Chicago
.
In 1910 George B. Post
, the architect of the Wisconsin State Capitol
Building then being designed attempted to secure the services of the well known sculptor Daniel Chester French
to create a statue of Wisconsin to be placed on top of the dome. However French, having as much work as he desired, turned the commission down and so Post recommended Mears for the job. Without waiting for a formal contract she immediately began working on a model, even visiting French in the course of her work. Shortly thereafter, Post received a letter from French indicating that he was interested in the task and was quickly awarded it. Mears was paid $1,500 for the work that she had already done, but the loss of the commission was a shock from which she never recovered.
Following the debacle surrounding the Wisconsin capitol statue, Mears's health declined as did her financial well-being, and she died penniless at the age of 43.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor.
Early life and career
Mears was born in Oshkosh, WisconsinOshkosh, Wisconsin
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,916 people, 24,082 households, and 13,654 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,662.2 people per square mile . There were 25,420 housing units at an average density of 1,075.6 per square mile...
, and studied at the State Normal School in Oshkosh, and art 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...
and 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...
. She was one of a group of women sculptors christened the "White Rabbits" who worked under Lorado Taft
Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadoc Taft was an American sculptor, writer and educator. Taft was born in Elmwood, Illinois in 1860 and died in his home studio in Chicago in 1936.-Early years and education:...
producing sculpture for the World Columbian Exposition. After moving to New York
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...
she studied with Augustus Saint Gaudens, later working as his assistant.
Her most important works include a marble statue of Frances E. Willard
Frances Willard (suffragist)
Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. Her influence was instrumental in the passage of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution...
(1905, Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, Washington) that is included in the National Statuary Hall Collection
National Statuary Hall Collection
The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol comprises statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history...
; portrait reliefs of Edward MacDowell
Edward MacDowell
Edward Alexander MacDowell was an American composer and pianist of the Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites "Woodland Sketches", "Sea Pieces", and "New England Idylls". "Woodland Sketches" includes his most popular short piece, "To a Wild Rose"...
(Metropolitan Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The 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...
, New York); and Augustus St. Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...
; portrait busts of George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark was a soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky militia throughout much of the war...
and William T.G. Morton, M. D.
William T.G. Morton
William Thomas Green Morton was an American dentist who first publicly demonstrated the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic in 1846. The promotion of his questionable claim to have been the discoverer of anesthesia became an obsession for the rest of his life.- Life and work :Born in...
(Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
). In 1904 her "Fountain of Life" (St. Louis Exposition
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...
) won a bronze medal. She made New York her residence and exhibited there and in 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...
.
In 1910 George B. Post
George B. Post
George Browne Post was an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition.-Biography:Post was a student of Richard Morris Hunt , but unlike many architects of his generation, he had previously received a degree in civil engineering...
, the architect of the Wisconsin State Capitol
Wisconsin State Capitol
The Wisconsin State Capitol, in Madison, Wisconsin, houses both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor. Completed during 1917, the building is the fifth to serve as the Wisconsin capitol since the first territorial legislature...
Building then being designed attempted to secure the services of the well known 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:...
to create a statue of Wisconsin to be placed on top of the dome. However French, having as much work as he desired, turned the commission down and so Post recommended Mears for the job. Without waiting for a formal contract she immediately began working on a model, even visiting French in the course of her work. Shortly thereafter, Post received a letter from French indicating that he was interested in the task and was quickly awarded it. Mears was paid $1,500 for the work that she had already done, but the loss of the commission was a shock from which she never recovered.
Following the debacle surrounding the Wisconsin capitol statue, Mears's health declined as did her financial well-being, and she died penniless at the age of 43.