John Quincy Adams Ward (June 29, 1830 – May 1, 1910) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor, who is most familiar for his over-lifesize standing statue of
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
on the steps of
Federal HallFederal Hall, located at 26 Wall Street in New York City, was the first capitol of the United States of America and the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789. It is also the place where the United States Bill of Rights was passed...
on Wall Street.
He was born in
Urbana, OhioUrbana is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Ohio, United States, 47 miles west of Columbus. Urbana was laid out in 1805, and for a time in 1812 was the headquarters of the Northwestern army. Urbana was named after a town in Virginia. It is the burial-place of the Indian fighter...
, a city that had been founded by his grandfather Col. William Ward, and went to live with his sister in Brooklyn, New York, where he trained under the well-established sculptor
Henry Kirke BrownHenry Kirke Brown was an American sculptor.He began to paint portraits while still a boy, studied painting in Boston under Chester Harding, learned a little about modelling, and in 1836-1839 spent his summers working as a railroad engineer to earn enough to enable him to study further.He spent...
, who carved "J.Q.A.
John Quincy Adams Ward (June 29, 1830 – May 1, 1910) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor, who is most familiar for his over-lifesize standing statue of
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
on the steps of
Federal HallFederal Hall, located at 26 Wall Street in New York City, was the first capitol of the United States of America and the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789. It is also the place where the United States Bill of Rights was passed...
on Wall Street.
Early years
He was born in
Urbana, OhioUrbana is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Ohio, United States, 47 miles west of Columbus. Urbana was laid out in 1805, and for a time in 1812 was the headquarters of the Northwestern army. Urbana was named after a town in Virginia. It is the burial-place of the Indian fighter...
, a city that had been founded by his grandfather Col. William Ward, and went to live with his sister in Brooklyn, New York, where he trained under the well-established sculptor
Henry Kirke BrownHenry Kirke Brown was an American sculptor.He began to paint portraits while still a boy, studied painting in Boston under Chester Harding, learned a little about modelling, and in 1836-1839 spent his summers working as a railroad engineer to earn enough to enable him to study further.He spent...
, who carved "J.Q.A. Ward, asst." on his
equestrian monumentAn equestrian statue is a statue of a horse-mounted rider. The term is from the Latin "eques", meaning "knight" and a derivative of "equus", meaning "horse". A statue of an unmounted horse is strictly an "equine statue".-Ancient Greece:...
of George Washington in
Union Square-Locations:Canada* Union Square, Nova ScotiaUnited States* Union Square, Baltimore, Maryland* Union Square * Union Square , a shopping center near New Castle, Pennsylvania* Union Square, San Francisco, California...
. His younger brother was the artist,
Edgar Melville WardEdgar Melville Ward was an American genre painter.Ward was born in Urbana, Ohio. His elder brother was the sculptor, John Quincy Adams Ward. He studied at the National Academy of Design in New York and in Paris under Cabanel. In 1883 he became a member of the Institut de France and was made a...
. Ward went to Washington in 1857, where he made a name with portrait busts of men in public life. In 1861 he worked for the Ames Sword Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, providing models for decorative objects including gilt-bronze sword hilts for the Union Army. Ames also was one of the largest brass, bronze and iron foundries in the US.
Ward set up a studio in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
in 1861 and was elected to the
National Academy of DesignThe 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, with a museum and a school of fine arts....
the following year; he was its president from 1874. In 1882 a new New York studio on
52nd Street52nd Street is a long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-Jazz center:The blocks of 52nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue were renowned in the mid 20th century for the abundance of jazz clubs and lively street life...
Street was designed for him by his friend,
Richard Morris HuntRichard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
who was to collaborate with him on many projects over the years.
Career
Nineteenth-century American commissions for sculpture were largely confined to portrait busts and monuments, where Ward was preeminent in his generation. Sculptors also made a living selling bronze reductions of their public works; Ward made use of new galvanoplastic duplicating techniques; many of Ward's reductions and galvanoplastic and die-stamped relief panels survive.
In 1903, with the collaboration of
Paul Wayland BartlettPaul Wayland Bartlett was an American sculptor. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Truman Howe Bartlett, an art critic and sculptor....
, he made the models for the marble pediment sculptures for the
New York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by United States dollar value of its listed companies' securities...
. The pediment was carved by the
Piccirilli BrothersThe Piccirilli Brothers were a family of renowned marble carvers who carved a large number of the most significant marble sculptures in the United States, including Daniel Chester French’s colossal Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.-History:In 1888, Giuseppe Piccirilli , a...
.
Ward was a founder and president of the
National Sculpture SocietyFounded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members included several renowned architects. The founding...
(1893–1904) and president of the
National Academy of DesignThe 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, with a museum and a school of fine arts....
(1874).
He died in 1910. A copy of his
Indian Hunter stands at his gravesite in Urbana. His sketchbooks are conserved at the
Albany Institute of History & ArtThe Albany Institute of History & Art is a museum in Albany, New York "dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting and promoting interest in the history, art, and culture of Albany and the Upper Hudson Valley region". The museum is located at 125 Washington Avenue in downtown Albany...
.
Public Sculpture
- 1864 "Indian Hunter", Central Park
Central Park is a large public, urban park that occupies over a square mile in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. It is host to approximately twenty-five million visitors each year...
, New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
- 1867 "The Good Samaritan" Sculpture, Ether Monument
The Ether Monument also known as The Good Samaritan is a statue and fountain in Boston's Public Garden which commemorates the use of ether in anesthesia. Its design has been attributed to the Boston architect William Robert Ware and to the sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward. It is 40 feet tall and...
, Boston Public GardenThe Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park located in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent to the Boston Common.-History:...
, Boston, MA
- 1869 Seventh Regiment Memorial, Central Park
Central Park is a large public, urban park that occupies over a square mile in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. It is host to approximately twenty-five million visitors each year...
, New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. The bronze of a standing Union soldier is set on a high granite pedestal along the West Carriage Drive at 69th Street. Actor and dramatist Steele MacKayeJames Morrison Steele MacKaye was an American playwright, actor, theater manager and inventor. Having acted, written, directed and produced numerous and popular plays and theatrical spectaculars of the day, he became one of the most famous actors and theater producers of his...
, who served in the 7th Regiment, was its model.
- 1878 General George H. Thomas Monument, Thomas Circle
Thomas Circle is a traffic circle in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States at the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Vermont Avenue, 14th Street, and M Street, N.W.The through lanes of Massachusetts Avenue pass under Thomas Circle...
, Washington, DC
- 1871 Major General John F. Reynolds
John Fulton Reynolds was a career United States Army officer and a general in the American Civil War. One of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders, despite having a relatively limited amount of combat experience in the war, he played a key role in committing the Army of the Potomac to...
Statue, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA
- 1872 William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, Central Park, New York City
- 1881 "Victory" Statue, Yorktown Victory Monument, Yorktown, VA
- 1882 George Washington
George Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
Statue, Federal HallFederal Hall, located at 26 Wall Street in New York City, was the first capitol of the United States of America and the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789. It is also the place where the United States Bill of Rights was passed...
, New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
- 1884 "The Pilgrim" Statue, Central Park
Central Park is a large public, urban park that occupies over a square mile in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. It is host to approximately twenty-five million visitors each year...
, New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
- 1887 James A. Garfield Monument
The James A. Garfield Monument stands on the grounds of the United States Capitol in the circle at First Street, S.W., and Maryland Avenue, Washington, D.C. It is a memorial to President James A. Garfield, elected in 1880 and assassinated in 1881 after serving only four months of his term, by a...
, Capitol Hill, 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, founded on July 16, 1790...
- 1893 Governor Horace Fairbanks
Horace Fairbanks was Governor of Vermont from 1876 to 1878.He was born in Barnet, Vermont, the third of nine children of Erastus Fairbanks and his wife Lois Crossman. He was educated in the county schools and Phillips Andover Academy. He became confidential clerk of E. & T. Fairbanks & Co...
, St. Johnsbury AthenaeumThe St. Johnsbury Athenaeum is located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It is significant due to the construction, the American landscape paintings and books from its original role as a public library and free art gallery, and funding by Horace Fairbanks, manufacturer of the world’s first platform scale....
, St. Johnsbury, VT
Further reading
- 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:...
, History of American Sculpture (New York, 1905)
- Adeline Adams, J. Q. A. Ward, An Appreciation (New York, 1911)
- ——, John Quincy Adams Ward (New York, 1912)
- Sharp, Lewis I., John Quincy Adams Ward, dean of American sculpture: with a catalogue raisonnée. (Newark: University of Delaware, 1985)
- Durante, Dianne, Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide (New York University Press, 2007): description and discussion of Ward's Washington, Greeley, Holley, Conkling, Dodge, and Shakespeare, all in New York, with a list of Ward's other works in the 5 Boroughs.
External links