Thomas Crawford
Encyclopedia
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...
.
He was born 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...
of Irish parentage, the son of Aaron and Mary (Gibson) Crawford. In his early years, he was at school with Page, the artist. His proficiency in his studies was hindered by the exuberance of his fancy, which took form in drawings and carvings. His love of art led him, at the age of 19, to enter the New York City studios of Frazer and Launitz, artists and artificers in marble. In 1834 he went abroad for the promotion of artistic studies, and in the summer of 1835 took up his residence in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, for life as it proved. The sculptor Thorwaldsen became his master and friend. Under this guidance, he devoted himself to the study both of the antique and of living models.
His first ideal work was a group of “Orpheus and Cerberus,” executed in 1839, and purchased, some years later, for the Boston Athenaeum, and now displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
. This was followed by a succession of groups, single figures, and bas-reliefs, whose rapid production bore witness to the fertility as well as the versatility of his genius. Among these are “Adam and Eve” and a bust of Josiah Quincy
Josiah Quincy
Josiah Quincy is the name of:*Colonel Josiah Quincy I , Revolutionary War soldier, built Josiah Quincy House *Josiah Quincy II , attorney, "the Patriot", newspaper propagandist, son of Josiah Quincy I...
, in 1900 in the Boston Athenaeum; “Hebe and Ganymede,” presented to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts by C. C. Perkins, and a bronze statue of Beethoven, presented by the same gentleman to the Boston Music Hall
Boston Music Hall
The Boston Music Hall was a concert hall located on Winter Street in Boston, Massachusetts, with an additional entrance on Hamilton Place.One of oldest continuously operating theaters in the United States, it was built in 1852 and was the original home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The hall...
, which now resides at the New England Conservatory; “Babes in the Wood,” in the Lenox Library
Lenox Library
Lenox Library may refer to:*Lenox Library *A former library now part of the New York Public Library...
; “Mercury and Psyche”; “Flora,” now in the gallery of the late Mrs. A. T. Stewart; an Indian girl; “Dancing Jenny,” modelled from his own daughter; and a statue of James Otis
James Otis
James Otis may refer to:*James Otis, Sr. , Massachusetts lawyer and public official*James Otis, Jr. , American revolutionary politician from Massachusetts...
, which adorns the chapel at Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
, Cambridge.
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. He immediately returned to Rome and began the work, of which the design was a star of five rays, each one of these bearing a statue of some historic Virginian, Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and subsequently, from 1784 to 1786...
and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
among the number. The work is surmounted by a plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
, on which stands an equestrian statue of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. These statues, modeled in Rome, were cast at a Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
foundry.
Crawford's most important works after these were ordered by the federal government for the United States 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...
at Washington. First among these was a marble pediment bearing life-size figures symbolical of the progress of American civilization; next in order came a bronze figure Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace which surmounts the dome; and last of these, and of his life-work, was a bronze door on which are modelled various scenes in the public life of Washington. Prominent among Crawford's works was also his statue of an Indian chief, much admired by the English sculptor Gibson, who proposed that a bronze copy of it should be retained in Rome as a lasting monument.
Crawford's health failed under the pressure of the great public works here enumerated. In politics he was a liberal, in religion a Protestant, in character generous and kindly, and adverse to discords, professional or social.
His major accomplishments include the figure above the dome of the United States 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...
entitled Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace, and the bronze doors and pediment statues for the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
wing. He was only able to begin the bas-reliefs for the bronze doors, which were afterwards completed by W. H. Rinehart.
In 1844, he married to Louisa Cutler Ward, a sister of Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet, most famous as the author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".-Biography:...
, and by her had four children, including the writers Francis Marion Crawford
Francis Marion Crawford
Francis Marion Crawford was an American writer noted for his many novels, especially those set in Italy, and for his classic weird and fantastic stories.-Life:...
and Mary Crawford Fraser
Mary Crawford Fraser
Mary Crawford Fraser , usually known as Mrs. Hugh Fraser, was an American writer noted for her various memoirs and historical novels....
(a.k.a. Mrs. Hugh Fraser).