Olin Levi Warner
Encyclopedia
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
portrait medallions and bust
Bust (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...
s he created in the late 19th century.
Warner was born in Suffield
Suffield, Connecticut
Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It had once been within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. In 1900, 3,521 people lived in Suffield; and in 1910, 3,841. As of the...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. Warner’s great-great-uncle was the Revolutionary
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
leader Seth Warner
Seth Warner
Seth Warner was born in Roxbury, Connecticut. In 1763, he removed with his father to Bennington in what was then known as the New Hampshire Grants. He established there as a huntsman....
. As a young man he worked as an artisan and a telegraph
Electrical telegraph
An electrical telegraph is a telegraph that uses electrical signals, usually conveyed via telecommunication lines or radio. The electromagnetic telegraph is a device for human-to-human transmission of coded text messages....
operator. In 1869 he had saved up enough money to move 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...
, where he studied sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
at the Ecole 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,...
under Francois Jouffroy
François Jouffroy
François Jouffroy was a French sculptor.Jouffroy was born in Dijon, the son of a baker, and attended the local drawing school before being admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1824. In 1832 he won the Prix de Rome...
, and worked as an assistant to Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux was a French sculptor and painter.Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpeaux entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1844 and won the Prix de Rome in 1854, and moving to Rome to find inspiration, he there studied the works of...
.
When the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
was proclaimed in 1870, he enlisted in the Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
, resuming his studies when the siege
Siege of Paris
The Siege of Paris, lasting from September 19, 1870 – January 28, 1871, and the consequent capture of the city by Prussian forces led to French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the establishment of the German Empire as well as the Paris Commune....
was over (May 1871). In 1872 he removed to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and established a studio. He was one of the founders and a member of the Society of American Artists
Society of American Artists
The Society of American Artists was an American artists group. It was formed in 1877 by artists who felt the National Academy of Design did not adequately meet their needs, and was too conservative....
in 1877 and an associate of the National Academy
National academy
A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanities. Typically the country's learned societies in...
of Design in 1888.
A trip through the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
led to a series of Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
-themed portrait medallions. He designed the souvenir half dollar
Half dollar
Half dollar may refer to a half-unit of several currencies that are named "dollar". Normally, $1 is divided into 100 cents, so a half dollar is equal to 50 cents...
for the 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...
, held 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 1893.
After meeting with little commercial success, however, he returned to live at his father’s farm in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, where he also did work for manufacturers of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and plated ware. Towards the end of his life his sculptures became known to a wider audience.
He died in 1896, after a cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
accident in New York's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. In the 1970s Warner's heirs donated his collection of personal papers to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art
Archives of American Art
The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 16 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washington, D.C...
.
Warner is credited with popularizing the bas relief, through numerous portraits in this style. Among his best known works are:
- "May" (1872)
- "Edwin ForrestEdwin ForrestEdwin Forrest was an American actor.-Early life:Forrest was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Scottish and German descent. His father died and he was brought up by his mother, a German woman of humble origins. He was educated at the common schools in Philadelphia, and early evinced a taste...
" (medallion, 1876) - "Rutherford B. HayesRutherford B. HayesRutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
" (bust, 1876) - "Twilight" (1878)
- "Dancing Nymph" (1879)
- Eight portrait busts on the facade of the Brooklyn Historical SocietyBrooklyn Historical SocietyFounded in 1863, the Brooklyn Historical Society is a museum, library, and educational center preserving and encouraging the study of Brooklyn's rich 400-year past. The Brooklyn Historical Society houses materials relating to the history of Brooklyn and its people. These holdings supply...
including Michelangelo, Beethoven, Columbus, Franklin, Gutenberg, Shakespeare, a Norseman, and a Native American. (1881) - "Gov. William A. Buckingham" (statue, 1883)
- "William Lloyd GarrisonWilliam Lloyd GarrisonWilliam Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
" (statue, 1885) - "The Reverend William F. Morgan, D. D." (bust, 1887)
- Skidmore FountainSkidmore FountainThe Skidmore Fountain is a historic fountain in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was dedicated September 22, 1888, in memory of Stephen G. Skidmore and partly financed by his will. It was designed by sculptor Olin Levi Warner for $18,000, all of which was donated...
for Portland, Oregon (1888) - "Diana" (1888)
- Major General Charles DevensCharles DevensCharles Devens was an American lawyer, jurist and statesman. He also served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
(statue, 1892–96) - In 1895, he was commissioned to create three bronze portals (tympanumTympanum (architecture)In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
and pair of doors) for the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. The three tympanums and one door had been completed when he died. Herbert Adams completed the commission.