Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790).
A Carved Pinewood Bust.
attrib. Martin Jugiez (d.1815) of Philadelphia.
attrib. Martin Jugiez (d.1815) of Philadelphia.
After the original by Jean Jaques Caffieri.
no earlier than 1777.
at the Chipstone Foundation.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Part 2.
Some more rough, unedited, preliminary notes - and by no means definitive.
A brief survey Figurative Sculpture in the East Coast States of America
in the Eighteenth / Early Nineteenth Century.
______________________
This post is sort of stream of consciousness and will be tidied up in the future!
I write this from the point of view of knowing next to nothing about the subject of early American sculpture and hope my readers (if there are any) will forgive me for my ignorance and for any errors that I make.
I am also posting images and photographs of other 18th Century American figurative sculptures including some works of the Skillen family, John Lord, John Welch, William Rush and Samuel Mcintire all of Boston.
___________________
Photographs and text above courtesy Sotheby's, New York.
Important American Sale 22/23 January 2016.
What might be very useful at some point is some Dendrochronological tests to determine when the tree from which it was carved from was felled.
Part 2.
Some more rough, unedited, preliminary notes - and by no means definitive.
A brief survey Figurative Sculpture in the East Coast States of America
in the Eighteenth / Early Nineteenth Century.
______________________
This post is sort of stream of consciousness and will be tidied up in the future!
I write this from the point of view of knowing next to nothing about the subject of early American sculpture and hope my readers (if there are any) will forgive me for my ignorance and for any errors that I make.
I am also posting images and photographs of other 18th Century American figurative sculptures including some works of the Skillen family, John Lord, John Welch, William Rush and Samuel Mcintire all of Boston.
___________________
The Chipstone Foundation Bust of Benjamin Franklin.
Formerly attributed to William Rush (1756 - 1833).
Currently attributed to Martin Jugiez, active in America by 1762.
There are other candidates for the sculptor including Samuel Mcintire (see below), William Rush and
Joseph Wilson for Timothy Dexter (very unlikely see below).
______________________
Scholar Keith Arbour suggested it may be the bust described
by Henry Wansey in his Excursion to the United States of North America in the
Summer of 1794, published in 1798, where he described a bust of Franklin on the
southeast portico of the State House (Independence Hall), which is now
demolished.
"Art historian Wayne Craven ascribed that object to Rush in
200 Years of American Sculpture (1976), but his attribution was subsequently
refuted by Linda Bantel. Her catalogue entry for the bust in William Rush,
American Sculptor (1982) cited stylistic and technical departures from the ship
carver’s work, most significantly differences in the sculpting of the eyes".
Given that the Chipstone bust is very close to the Caffieri bust - not quite a direct copy but very near - there are slight differences in detail of the eyes and cravat, it is clearly derived from the Caffieri bust - the argument put forward by Linda Bantel that it is not by Rush based on the treatment of the eyes would seem to me to be not proven and I remain unconvinced. Certainly in the later busts by Rush the eyes are treated differently with pupil being drilled. see Rush's busts of himself, Lafayette, Caspar Wispar. Joseph Wright and Gen Andrew Jackson.
____________________
Martin Jugiez (c.1730 - 1815).
Pennsylvania Gazette on November 25, 1762, reported that he and his
partner Nicholas Bernard had imported goods on the Carolina with Captain Friend
at the helm sailing from London,” Gergat said. The advertisement listed “A
Compleat assortment of Looking-Glasses, framed in the newest Taste, Picture
Frames, Sconces, Chimneypieces, Ornaments for Ceilings, Pictures Framed and
Glazed, a neat Harpsichord, N.B. All Sort of Carving in Wood or Stone and
Gilding done in the neatest Manner.”
It has until recently been assumed that Jugiez was apprenticed in London but I have discovered that as his name suggests he was French and was apprenticed to François Germain Suppligeaux in Paris in 1741
Contrat de mise en apprentissage pour 5 ans, entre Jacques
Jugiez, marchand de vins, et François
Germain Suppligeaux, maître sculpteur, au profit de Martin
Jugiez, âgé de 11 ans, fils de Jacques,
logé, nourri, blanchi et entretenu par son père, sauf
l'hiver, où le maître le logera, sans deniers
déboursés (approuvé par les jurés en charge, droits perçus).
30 juin 1741.
30/06/1741 : apprenticeship contract between Jacques
JUGIEZ (Wine merchant) and François Germain Suppligeaux (master carver).
The
apprentice is Martin JUGIEZ, 11 years old - Son of Jacques
Francois Germain Suppligeaux
MC/ET/XXI/303
Transport de droits successifs concernant Germain
Suppligeaux, sculpteur, demeurant rue
Feydeau.
11 février 1726
Origine de l'information :
Histoire de l'art, 1700-1750, études XIII à XXXIX (env.
7.500 actes), par Mireille Rambaud, 1966-
1975 (fichier papier entièrement dématérialisé ; voir
contexte dans le Plan d’orientation général -
Notaires de Paris, guides thématiques du Minutier).
Date de révision :2010
Date de création de la notice : 2007
Termes d'indexation
transport de droits;
partage; Feydeau (rue); Supligeaux, Germain François; sculpteur
This snippet above from - Minutes et répertoires du notaire Joseph RABOUINE, 27 mai
1722 -
17 juillet 1767 (étude XXI).
Répertoire numérique détaillé
Minutier central des notaires de Paris
1ère édition électronique
Archives nationales (France)
Pierrefitte-sur-Seine
18 juin 2013
See -
https://www.siv.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/siv/rechercheconsultation/consultation/ir/pdfIR.action?irId=FRAN_IR_041654
https://francearchives.fr/en/facomponent/a2f247bd72f56929302716743ef1ff8e4876fe1a
____________________________
Marriage contract of François Germain Suppligeaux. 1737.
BONNEVAL (Toussaint) maître sculpteur rue des Fossés
Saint-Germain § mariage de sa fille avec Fois Germain Suppligeaux
Contrat de mariage entre François Germain Suppligeaux,
maître sculpteur, rue Saint-Marc, et Antoinette Bonneval, fille de Toussaints
Bonneval, maître sculpteur, rue des Fossés de Monsieur le Prince.
Contenu :
Origine de l'information :
Étude I, contrats de mariage, testaments, inventaires après
décès, 1700-1750 (5830 actes) (fichier papier entièrement dématérialisé ; voir
contexte dans le Plan d’orientation général - Notaires de Paris, guides
thématiques du Minutier).
Date de création de la notice :2006
Identifiant de l'unité documentaire :
MC/ET/I/346 - MC/ET/I/728, MC/RE/I/8 - MC/RE/I/9 -
MC/ET/I/386
from - France Archives see :
_________________________
For an excellent survey of American Mid 18th Century Culture -
and a very useful introduction to mid 18th century American carvers see -
and a very useful introduction to mid 18th century American carvers see -
American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament
By Morrison H. Heckscher, Leslie Greene Bowman.
1992.
Catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum.
Currently available on line with google books
1992.
Catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum.
Currently available on line with google books
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0IqxqguoyBkC&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
______________________
For a list of Boston Furniture Craftsmen
_______________________________
Catalogue notes.
This remarkable wooden bust stands as one of the best
eighteenth century sculptures of Benjamin Franklin known. Bought by David Stockwell in the 1930’s from
a local Philadelphia dealer, the bust’s earliest history is unfortunately not
certain.
A surface analysis was performed on the bust in 1997 by the Museum of
Fine Arts Boston and they discovered 17 different layers of paint and varnish
including evidence for five different gilding campaigns. (1).
Keith Arbour has researched various busts of Franklin used
as architectural elements in the late eighteenth and early 19th centuries.2
Franklin’s bust was a popular architectural element used over shop doors, such
as a bust for Isaac Beers’s New Haven bookstore and publishing house in the
collection of the Yale Art Gallery (1804.4). (3).
He hypothesised that one possible
original location for this bust was the southeast door of the House Chamber in
Independence Hall that was mentioned by Henry Wansey in 1794.4 The southeast
door was the main entrance to the House Chamber in 1793, but unfortunately the
portico and the door were demolished in 1812. (5).
In 1976, Wayne Craven published the bust as attributed to
William Rush in his book 200 Years of American Sculpture. This has subsequently
been refuted by Linda Bantel in her 1982 monograph on Rush. Arbour noted that
this bust appears closely related to Giuseppe Ceracchi’s (1751-1801) revision
of Jean Jacques Caffieri (1725
-1792).(6).
While the artist and true use
for this amazing object are yet unknown it proudly stands as a monument of late
18th century wood carving of “The First American.”
Notes.
1. Richard Newman, Examination Report, Department of Objects
Conservation and Scientific Research, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, September 5,
1996.
2. Arbour,“Draft of preliminary report for Michael Zinman on
Painted Pine Bust of Benjamin Franklin...,” manuscript, December 2, 1995, 2-3.
3. Charles Colman Sellers, Benjamin Franklin in Portraiture
(New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1962), p. 358.
4. Henry Wansey, An
Excursion to the United States of North America in the Summer of 1794
(Salisbury: Printed and sold by J. Easton, 1798), p. 112.
5. Letter, Keith Arbour to Karie Deithirn, January 19, 1996.
6. Sellers, Benjamin Franklin in Portraiture, illus. 17.
Photographs and text above courtesy Sotheby's, New York.
Important American Sale 22/23 January 2016.
What might be very useful at some point is some Dendrochronological tests to determine when the tree from which it was carved from was felled.
______________________________
The Caffieri Bust of Franklin.
Engraving.
Paris 1778.
9inches x 8 inches.
https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/30202/le-docteur-francklin-couronne-par-la-liberte-allegorical-e-saint-non
___________________________
The Chipstone bust alongside the Merci Train bust which we know to be an early generation cast from the original terracotta.
_______________________________________
Fireback with Fairfax Family Coat of Arms.
Martin Jugiez, Nicholas Bernard, Pattern Carvers.
It is possible that Rush also worked with Edward Cutbush (1745 - 90).
Benjamin Franklin
Simeon Skillin Junior (1756 - 1806).
___________________
Plenty
Skillin Brothers.
Peabody Essex Museum
Photograph above from
http://folkartcooperstown.blogspot.com/2012/07/king-derbys-plenty.html
_____________________________
Desk and bookcase.
with carved busts attrib. to Simeon Skillen senior (detail of one of the three busts).
https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/39266
______________________________
http://www.chipstone.org/article.php/32/American-Furniture-1994/John-Cogswell-and-Boston-Bomb%C3%A9-Furniture:-Thirty-Five-Years-of-Revolution-in-Politics-and-Design
_____________________________
http://www.chipstone.org/images.php/32/American-Furniture-1994/John-Cogswell-and-Boston-Bomb%C3%A9-Furniture:-Thirty-Five-Years-of-Revolution-in-Politics-and-Design
________________________________
Four Seasons - Group Photograph
Metropolitan Museum, New York.
Fall (Autumn).
Carved wood.
12.5" 31 cms.
c.1810.
Gifted 1971.
Metropolitan Museum.
__________________________________
Given 1971.
Metropolitan Museum
These statements lifted from -
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/10037?searchField=All&sortBy=relevance&ft=american+sculpture&offset=160&rpp=80&pos=213
They appear to have missed Martin Jugiez and the Charleston carvers
_________________________
Figurehead attributed to Simeon Skillin Jnr
Carved Pine
Height73.66 cms
They say c. 1805
Peabody Essex Museum
https://www.pem.org/blog/adventures-in-tight-places
_________________________________
https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/liberty-41015
Liberty.
Unknown Sculptor.
Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Image courtesy http://folkartcooperstown.blogspot.com/2011/03/lady-in-winter.html
__________________________________
Samuel McIntire (1757 - 1811).
of Salem Mass.
Carver and Architect.
https://archive.org/details/essexinstitutehi93esse/page/n7
Indispensible as an introduction to Samuel Mcintire and his relationship with the Skillin family of carvers and his relationship with his clients, particularly with Elias Hasket Derby and building s in Salem. Mass.
________________
http://mcintire.pem.org/contents.php
see also
http://kellscraft.com/EarlyAmericanCraftsmen/EarlyAmericanCraftsmenCh02.html
Probably very out of date but another useful starting point.
https://archive.org/details/woodcarverofsale00cous/page/n29
______________________
John Winthrop
Samuel McIntire
1798
for William Bentley.
American Antiquarian Society.
This image from -
http://kellscraft.com/EarlyAmericanCraftsmen/EarlyAmericanCraftsmenCh02.html
______________________
John Winthrop (1587 - 1649).
Samuel Mcintire
1798
for Rev.William Bentley
Bentley Bequest 1819.
American Antiquarian Society.
see - American Antiquarian Society.
https://www.americanantiquarian.org/Inventories/Portraits/bios/155.pdf
______________________________
Height 15"
Bentley bequest.
1802
Bentley paid Mcintire £8
Given by Rev. William Bentley to the American Philosophical Society in 1819
see -
see - https://www.americanantiquarian.org/Inventories/Portraits/bios/137.pdf
____________________
Samuel McIntire was born in Salem in 1757. His father was Joseph McIntire, a joiner, and it is likely that he learned his trade from him. He studied and practised wood carving under local masters and soon became noted for his skill. This craft he practised all his life, though the need for architects where architects were scarce led him into the designing of homes.
______________________________
Carved Bracket from Christchurch, Philadelphia, 1753.
see - http://www.chipstone.org/images.php/705/American-Furniture-2014/Pattern-Carving-in-Eighteenth-Century-Philadelphia
The Thirty carved wooden figures by Joseph Wilson
for the very eccentric "Lord" Timothy Dexter (1747 - 1805).
from his Newburyport estate Massachusetts.
Image courtesy -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/18404175496/
High Street Newburyport c. 1810
For Dexter's Magnum Opus see
http://www.lordtimothydexter.com/the_holl_pickle_1.htm#p1a
Engraving.
Paris 1778.
9inches x 8 inches.
An engraving depicting the Caffieri bust of Franklin surmounting a globe with the continent of America visible; bundled fasces lie
at the bottom, while the figure of Liberty, a woman in billowing robes, holding
aloft two olive-leaf wreaths, approaches from the clouds to crown Franklin.
At the top, in rays of light, is a liberty cap on a pole.
From a series of 8 views of the 'Moulin Joli', etched by
Abbé Jean Claude Richard de Saint-Non (1730 - 1792) after Jean Baptiste Le
Prince (1734 - 1781).
Saint-Non was an amateur etcher and aquatinter, the
patron of Fragonard and Robert; he sponsored the 'Voyage Pittoresque de Naples
et de Sicile' of 1781-6.
image and indo from:
___________________________
The Chipstone bust alongside the Merci Train bust which we know to be an early generation cast from the original terracotta.
_______________________________________
The New York Historical Society bust of Franklin alongside the unrestored Chipstone bust for comparison.
The New York bust
Height 28"
The detail of this bust seems generalised, it certainly lacks the crispness of the Merci Train bust -
but even that bust lacks the working marks on the original terracotta.
This might be because of the build up of paint or the degeneration of the original mould
The Chipstone Foundation Bust of Benjamin Franklin
Currently attributed to Martin Jugiez of Philadelphia
At Sotheby’s Important Americana sale in January 2016, the
Chipstone Foundation purchased the bust of Benjamin
Franklin catalogued as “American school . . . executed circa 1785 – 1795, probably
in Philadelphia” (above).
The attribution was based on the object being made
of white pine, its provenance, and its publication history.
Three busts of John Locke which were originally on pieces of furniture were also offered as evidence.
Luke Beckerdite makes the point - Jugiez’s (busts of Locke and Milton) were probably inspired by imports. In 1765 Jugiez and
Bernard advertised a “variety of neat figures and busts in plaister of Paris,
with brackets for ditto.
http://www.chipstone.org/article.php/752/American-Furniture-2016/A-Philadelphia-Carved-Bust-of-Benjamin-Franklin
(These busts of Locke and Milton were probably derived from imported plaster casts by John Cheere.
For the busts of Locke by John Cheere see - my post -
http://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2018/02/some-plaster-busts-of-john-locke-by-and.html
I still have doubts about the current attribution to Jugiez.
It is currently my opinion that it most likely to have been carved by one of the "Boston School" of Carvers where there was much more of a tradition for this style of carving. William Mcintire is a possible candidate - see entry for Mcintire below and reference to the bust of Franklin in his possession when he died.
It is dangerous to be too dogmatic and there are certainly other candidates such as John Lord of Charleston, South Carolina and James Reynolds and his family of Philadelphia, Penn.
An attribution to William Mcintire or the Skillen Brothers workshops is possible.
There are at least two busts of Franklin extant known to be by Mcintire (see below).
What might be very useful is a dendochronological test to determine when the tree that this bust was carved from was felled.
_____________________
http://www.chipstone.org/article.php/752/American-Furniture-2016/A-Philadelphia-Carved-Bust-of-Benjamin-Franklin
(These busts of Locke and Milton were probably derived from imported plaster casts by John Cheere.
For the busts of Locke by John Cheere see - my post -
http://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2018/02/some-plaster-busts-of-john-locke-by-and.html
______________________
I still have doubts about the current attribution to Jugiez.
It is currently my opinion that it most likely to have been carved by one of the "Boston School" of Carvers where there was much more of a tradition for this style of carving. William Mcintire is a possible candidate - see entry for Mcintire below and reference to the bust of Franklin in his possession when he died.
And the following page from
Essex Institute Historical Collections [Historical
Collections of the Essex Institute] Vol XC111 - 1957.
An attribution to William Mcintire or the Skillen Brothers workshops is possible.
There are at least two busts of Franklin extant known to be by Mcintire (see below).
What might be very useful is a dendochronological test to determine when the tree that this bust was carved from was felled.
________________________
Provenance:
The early history of the bust is unknown. Antique dealer
David Stockwell reputedly acquired the object from Philadelphia collector John Morris
Scott during the 1940s.
Stockwell loaned the bust to the Delaware Historical
Society, where he served as chair of the Museum Committee, around 1968 and
donated it to them in 1979.
After consignments to Hirschl & Adler and Peter H. H.
Davidson & Co. failed to produce a sale, the society placed the bust at
auction in 1982.
Antique dealer and folk art scholar David Schorsh purchased
the object and subsequently sold it to Stamford, Connecticut, dealers Rocky and
Avis Gardiner.
The Gardiners appear to have sold the bust to High Ridge Books
of Rye, New York.
By 1989, the bust was in the collection of the Haydn
Foundation for the Cultural Arts.
The foundation apparently sold the bust to a
private collector who consigned it to Hirschl & Adler by 2010. Presumably
that collector was the consignor at the Sotheby’s sale.
Catalogued at Sotheby's Sale in, Important Americana, pp. 190–91, lot 1590. - Linda Bantel, et al, William Rush, American Sculptor (Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1982), pp. 177–78.
Catalogued at Sotheby's Sale in, Important Americana, pp. 190–91, lot 1590. - Linda Bantel, et al, William Rush, American Sculptor (Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1982), pp. 177–78.
The italics are mine - this information needs to be clarified.
___________________
For a chest on chest by Jugiez see -
______________________________
Martin Jugiez.
Unlike the immigrant carvers James Reynolds and Hercules
Courtenay, Jugiez never advertised as having arrived from London as the other
two would do in 1766 and 1769 respectively.
Between 1762 and 1783, Jugiez shared a business in Philadelphia with the carver Nicholas Bernard. Bernard and Jugiez publicised that they could provide all manner of carving in wood and stone. They also offered an assortment of items for sale imported from London, including looking glasses, picture frames, chimney pieces, and ornaments for ceilings. Shortly after Bernard and Jugiez first advertised in The Pennsylvania Gazette on November 25, 1762, they were engaged in many of the most desirable commissions in Philadelphia, including producing a variety of architectural carving for St. Peter's Church and the massive organ case (1763-1764), and creating the carved interiors at Mount Pleasant (completed 1765), the country seat of the privateer John Macpherson and his wife Margaret.
Between 1762 and 1783, Jugiez shared a business in Philadelphia with the carver Nicholas Bernard. Bernard and Jugiez publicised that they could provide all manner of carving in wood and stone. They also offered an assortment of items for sale imported from London, including looking glasses, picture frames, chimney pieces, and ornaments for ceilings. Shortly after Bernard and Jugiez first advertised in The Pennsylvania Gazette on November 25, 1762, they were engaged in many of the most desirable commissions in Philadelphia, including producing a variety of architectural carving for St. Peter's Church and the massive organ case (1763-1764), and creating the carved interiors at Mount Pleasant (completed 1765), the country seat of the privateer John Macpherson and his wife Margaret.
From receive
commissions from affluent patrons such as Benjamin Chew, John Cadwalader, and
Samuel Powel, as well as from prominent Philadelphia cabinetmakers Thomas
Affleck and Benjamin Randolph. He marched alongside James Reynolds and the
carver's float in Philadelphia's Grand Federal Procession of July 4, 1788, and
carved Ionic capitals for the central rotunda of the Pennsylvania Hospital in
1799.2
Little work is documented or attributed to him past the end of the
eighteenth century, though in an 1803 letter to Samuel Mifflin discussing the
construction of a stove for the U.S. Senate Chamber in Washington, D.C.,
architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe wrote, "and old Martin Jugiez renowned as
the ugliest man in Philadelphia will do the carving, exactly in the stile of
the stove of the Bank of Philadelphia.
Text above from
_________________________
Bust of John Locke attrib. Martin Jugiez.
John Locke.
Mahogany.
Height 10.5"
Metropolitan Museum.
..............................
Busts on Furniture by Martin Jugiez.
John Milton
Private collection
_______________
Fireback Patterns by Martin Jugiez.
Fireback with Fairfax Family Coat of Arms.
Isaac Zane, Marlboro Furnace –
Frederick County, Virginia, United States of
America.
Martin Jugiez, Nicholas Bernard, Pattern Carvers.
Size : height 34 5/16; : width 31 5/8
1770-1775.
Bearing
the arms of the Fairfax family (note the early spelling), the pattern may have
originally been a custom order of George William Fairfax, the Virginia agent of
the 5 million acre Fairfax holdings in the Northern Neck of Virginia. Their
estate, Belvoir (near Mount Vernon) was considered to be, after the Governor’s
Palace at Williamsburg, the social and political center of the colony.
The
fireback is one of the very few armorial types cast in America this form
having been more popular in Europe.
The order from furnace proprietor Isaac
Zane to specialist Philadelphia carvers Bernard and Jugiez survives, provides
documentation of the artists: on 20 December 1770, Bernard and Jugiez
acknowledged the receipt of “Eight pounds for the carving the arms of Earl of
Fairfax for a Pattern for the Back of Chimney sent Isaac Zane Jr.”
Text adapted and images from
Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts
Winston - Salem North Carolina.
______________________________
Bust of Benjamin Franklin
Jean-Jacques Caffieri (1725–1792)
Painted plaster
with bronze colour paint
H. 28 Inches.
The George Washington University Permanent Collection, courtesy of The Luther W. Brady Art Gallery.
© 2015 The George Washington University.
with bronze colour paint
H. 28 Inches.
The George Washington University Permanent Collection, courtesy of The Luther W. Brady Art Gallery.
© 2015 The George Washington University.
Almost certainly the cast originally delivered to the Royal Academy
of Sciences, Paris, France in 1788 a gift from Benjamin Franklin and taken from the original 1777 mould.
This bust was part of the Merci Train in 1947- a gift to the USA from France for their assistance in removing the Germans from France
Then to Benjamin Franklin University in 1949.
then to George Washington University, ca. 1987.
This bust was part of the Merci Train in 1947- a gift to the USA from France for their assistance in removing the Germans from France
Then to Benjamin Franklin University in 1949.
then to George Washington University, ca. 1987.
See - the excellent essay by Pamela Ehrlich regarding the rediscovery and retrieval of this bust
https://www.incollect.com/articles/the-royal-academy-of-sciences-bust-of-benjamin-franklin
For the Houdon busts of Franklin see also the Boston Athenaeum website
https://www.bostonathenaeum.org/about/publications/selections-acquired-tastes/busts-franklin-and-lafayette-jean-antoine-houdon
For the Houdon busts of Franklin see also the Boston Athenaeum website
https://www.bostonathenaeum.org/about/publications/selections-acquired-tastes/busts-franklin-and-lafayette-jean-antoine-houdon
__________________________
William Rush and Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (Mark 1).
William Rush (1756 - 1833).
1787.
H. 20 1/4", W. 16 1/4", D. 13". (Courtesy,
Yale University Art Gallery.)
In Noah Webster’s Diary an entry discovered by Charles
Colman Sellers it indicates that this bust was carved by William Rush in 1787 as a
shop sign for the New Haven bookshop and publishing house of Isaac Beers (1742 –
1813) Webster was in close contact with Franklin after his return to
Philadelphia from France in 1785 on 9th February 1787 Webster wrote in
his journal “Wait on Mr Rush Carver for a bust of Dr Franklin for Mr Isaac
Beers N Haven he later recorded £26 10s payment
According to Linda Bantel’s catalogue entry in
William Rush, American Sculptor (Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine
Arts, 1982), p. 97, this bust “has been in the collection of Yale College since
1804.”
It was described as “a “Bust of Dr. Franklin carved by Rush. . . . taken
from life . . . [and] presented by Dr. Franklin to his friend Isaac Beers Esq.”
_______________
William Rush, (born July 4, 1756, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
[U.S.] - died January 17, 1833, Philadelphia), sculptor and wood-carver who is
considered the first significant American sculptor.
It is possible that Rush also worked with Edward Cutbush (1745 - 90).
Rush trained with his father, a ship carpenter, to make
ornamental ship carvings and figureheads. During the American Revolution he
served as an officer in Philadelphia’s militia and campaigned with George
Washington in the city’s defence.
Shortly after the end of the war, he set up a
shop in Philadelphia, and the figureheads he made there were made for the American navy.
In 1805, along with the artist Charles Willson Peale and others, he
helped found the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, and he
served for many years as a member of the Philadelphia city council. Rush was
instrumental in building the Pennsylvania Academy’s collection of plaster
casts, which proved influential in his own artistic development.
Yale University Art Gallery
________________________
Pages from William Rush American Sculptor pub. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
For more on William Rush see -
https://www.phillyhistory.org/blog/index.php/2015/12/william-rush-and-whats-left-of-the-nymph/
This would appear to be the earliest known portrait bust by Rush.
First attributed to Rush in 1941 by Pauline Pinkney
This would appear to be the earliest known portrait bust by Rush.
First attributed to Rush in 1941 by Pauline Pinkney
For William Rush and early nineteenth-century shipbuilding and
ship carving in Philadelphia, see William Rush, American Sculptor
(Philadelphia, 1982); Thomas R. Heinrich,
Not yet consulted.
George Washington
William Rush
Photographed in Philadelphia Independence Hall
Now in the Second Bank of the United States
Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.
See -
https://www.phillyhistory.org/blog/index.php/2017/02/americas-better-bet-the-wooden-washington/
_______________________
William Rush,
Painted white, 55 ½ x 27 x 22 inches (c. 1815).
The eyes have not been drilled.
Image courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis.
George Washington
William Rush
Photographed in Philadelphia Independence Hall
Now in the Second Bank of the United States
Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.
See -
https://www.phillyhistory.org/blog/index.php/2017/02/americas-better-bet-the-wooden-washington/
_______________________
Benjamin Franklin
(Mark 2)
William Rush
(Mark 2)
William Rush
Benjamin Franklin, figurehead for USS Franklin,
William Rush,
Painted white, 55 ½ x 27 x 22 inches (c. 1815).
The eyes have not been drilled.
Image courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis.
________________________
Simeon Skillin Senior (1716 - 1768).
A Bust of John Milton attributed to Simeon (Simion) Skillin Senior
From Rhode Island History Vol 25. no 4. October. 1966.
see
______________________
The Skillin Workshop Bust of Benjamin Franklin.
For the Skillin Workshops see -
Icons of American Trade: The Skillin Workshop and the
Language of Spectacle.
Sylvia Leistyna Lahvis.
Winterthur Portfolio.
Vol. 27, No. 4 (Winter, 1992), pp. 213-233.
available online at
Samuel Skillin, Junior (Attributed).
Wood and paint; H. 29 1/2 in., W. 11 in.
Frankliniana Collection.
The bust descended through the Skillin family until it was
given as a gift to The Franklin Institute by Edward S. Skillin, J. Harper Skillin
and Augustus H. Skillin (prior to March 24, 1947).
The Franklin Institute, Inc.
(Philadelphia, Pa.), 3292
________________
Simeon Skillen Senior (1716 - 68).
In 1741 his business was in Salutation Abbey
Samuel Skillen (1742 -
John Skillen.( d. 24 Jan 1800)
Simeon Skillen Jnr. (1756 - 1806).
The Skillin workshop was taken over by Isaac Fowle and Edmund Raymond in 1806.
see - Early American Woodcarving by Erwin Ottomar Christensen 1952 Dover edition 1972.
____________________________
In 1741 his business was in Salutation Abbey
Samuel Skillen (1742 -
John Skillen.( d. 24 Jan 1800)
Simeon Skillen Jnr. (1756 - 1806).
The Skillin workshop was taken over by Isaac Fowle and Edmund Raymond in 1806.
see - Early American Woodcarving by Erwin Ottomar Christensen 1952 Dover edition 1972.
____________________________
Simeon Skillin Junior (1756 - 1806).
Sculptor. The most proficient member of a Boston family
enterprise, he enlarged the artisanal woodworking tradition to reflect fine art
practice. By the 1790s he often relied on books or prints to devise a
provincial response to neoclassicism. Despite his accomplishments, Skillin
never achieved the expertise of his exact contemporary William Rush in handling
three-dimensional form, nor his cultural sophistication. His father, Simeon
Skillin (1716–78), established the workshop that trained Simeon Jr. and his
brother John Skillin (1745/46–1800). Although the founder was well known as a
carver of ship figureheads, none of his work can be specifically identified
today. The great bulk of the sons' work also has perished, and few attributions
can be documented. Of those, the allegorical Plenty (Peabody Essex Museum,
Salem, Massachusetts), known to have come from the workshop in 1793, represents
a capability in presenting human form and a familiarity with classical
symbolism. In addition to continuing the elder Samuel's marine specialty, the
shop produced architectural decorations, including important elements of
Charles Bullfinch's designs, as well as furniture embellishments and garden
ornaments. A third brother, Samuel Skillin (1742–93) worked also in
Philadelphia before the Revolution. Although subsequently in Boston, generally
he did not participate in the workshop and seems not to have found much
success.
_________________________
This biog. from the Franklin Institute website below.
All info here need to be checked
The Skillin family is well known as prolific and
accomplished 18th century American woodcarvers. Samuel Skillin and his brothers
John and Simeon apprenticed under their father, Simeon Skillin, Jr.
Both John & Simeon Skillin were better known than their brother Samuel, as the two brothers received numerous important commissions, such as the carving of the figurehead for the Constitution and the sternboard of the Massachusetts.
Both John & Simeon Skillin were better known than their brother Samuel, as the two brothers received numerous important commissions, such as the carving of the figurehead for the Constitution and the sternboard of the Massachusetts.
Members of the Skillin family carved the figures on the
Boston Public Library. It has long been a tradition in the New York branch of
the Skillin family that the figure in wood of Saint Paul in the niche under the
gable end of St. Paul's Chapel, New York City, was carved either by Samuel
Skillin or his son Simeon Skillin.
Samuel Skillin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 5,
1742. From Boston he went to Philadelphia, where in 1765 he married Elizabeth
Towsan. Having come from a family of woodcarvers, Samuel continued to follow
this trade in Philadelphia.
Samuel Skillin was enrolled June 25, 1777, in the 5th Company of the 2nd class of the Philadelphia Militia (Capt. Christian Piercy), which was mustered into the service of the U.S. at Billingsport on July 12, 1777, under Colonel Sharp Delany. Samuel Skillin's son, Simeon Skillin, was born in Philadelphia on June 9, 1766. It is not known when Samuel Skillin and his son Simeon left Philadelphia and went to New York. Simeon was also a woodcarver, as appears by the old New York city directories. Both Samuel and his son Simeon were in New York City in 1793. Samuel evidently worked for his son Simeon in that city, as he was paid by his son for certain work performed for the latter. On May 1, 1800, Simeon Skillin married Amelia Conklin of Huntingon, Long Island, and he died on January 31, 1830.
Samuel Skillin was enrolled June 25, 1777, in the 5th Company of the 2nd class of the Philadelphia Militia (Capt. Christian Piercy), which was mustered into the service of the U.S. at Billingsport on July 12, 1777, under Colonel Sharp Delany. Samuel Skillin's son, Simeon Skillin, was born in Philadelphia on June 9, 1766. It is not known when Samuel Skillin and his son Simeon left Philadelphia and went to New York. Simeon was also a woodcarver, as appears by the old New York city directories. Both Samuel and his son Simeon were in New York City in 1793. Samuel evidently worked for his son Simeon in that city, as he was paid by his son for certain work performed for the latter. On May 1, 1800, Simeon Skillin married Amelia Conklin of Huntingon, Long Island, and he died on January 31, 1830.
___________________
Plenty
Skillin Brothers.
Peabody Essex Museum
Photograph above from
http://folkartcooperstown.blogspot.com/2012/07/king-derbys-plenty.html
_____________________________
Desk and bookcase, Boston, 1760–65.
Mahogany, white pine; h
96¾, w 43¾, D. 23½.
Milton Public Library, Milton, Massachusetts; Bequeathed by
Elizabeth Peters Swift. Photo, Gavin Ashworth.
Desk and bookcase.
with carved busts attrib. to Simeon Skillen senior (detail of one of the three busts).
The Milton Public Library owns a unique Boston
blockfront desk and bookcase, decorated with three surviving gilt busts mounted
as finials, that also claims a Hutchinson provenance (figs. 14, fig. 15).
The likelihood that the finials were carved by Simeon Skillin Sr. suggests a probable date of 1760 –65. The desk is made of Cuban mahogany, however, not the walnut described in the inventory of the “little room,” indicating that the piece was not in Hutchinson’s house at the time of the Stamp Act Riots.13
It seems likelier it belonged in the country house that Hutchinson built in Milton in 1742. Hutchinson’s papers and other valuable objects were removed from Boston to Milton for safe-keeping when Hutchinson was summoned to England in June 1774, following the Boston Tea Party, to consult on Massachusetts affairs. Ironically, the Milton house, which lay behind patriot lines shortly after the battles of Lexington and Concord, was also looted. Even though the Milton Public Library’s desk and bookcase was clearly not part of the furnishings of Hutchinson’s town house in 1765, it does suggest, together with an intricately carved English looking glass (fig. 16), also owned by the Milton library, that Hutchinson’s taste leaned toward a high-style opulence. Such luxuries contrasted with the more conservative interior of his town house, which was, after all, an inherited property whose contents would have been assembled over several generations.
The likelihood that the finials were carved by Simeon Skillin Sr. suggests a probable date of 1760 –65. The desk is made of Cuban mahogany, however, not the walnut described in the inventory of the “little room,” indicating that the piece was not in Hutchinson’s house at the time of the Stamp Act Riots.13
It seems likelier it belonged in the country house that Hutchinson built in Milton in 1742. Hutchinson’s papers and other valuable objects were removed from Boston to Milton for safe-keeping when Hutchinson was summoned to England in June 1774, following the Boston Tea Party, to consult on Massachusetts affairs. Ironically, the Milton house, which lay behind patriot lines shortly after the battles of Lexington and Concord, was also looted. Even though the Milton Public Library’s desk and bookcase was clearly not part of the furnishings of Hutchinson’s town house in 1765, it does suggest, together with an intricately carved English looking glass (fig. 16), also owned by the Milton library, that Hutchinson’s taste leaned toward a high-style opulence. Such luxuries contrasted with the more conservative interior of his town house, which was, after all, an inherited property whose contents would have been assembled over several generations.
Text above from - https://www.colonialsociety.org/publications/3297/such-ruins-were-never-seen-america-looting-thomas-hutchinsons-house-time-stamp
____________________________
Maker Cabinetmaker: Stephen Badlam, American, 1751–1815
Carver: John Skillin, American, 1746–1800
Carver: Simeon Skillin, Jr., American, 1757–1806.
Chest-on-Chest.
1791.
Mahogany; front of drawer in architrave, mahogany; other
drawer fronts, mahogany veneer on chestnut; eastern white pine; bottom
dustboard in lower case, red pine.
101 1/8 x 51 1/2 x 23 3/4 in. (256.9 x 130.8 x 60.3 cm)
other (Upper case): 42 13/16 x 19 3/4 in.(108.7 x 50.2 cm) other (Lower case):
46 x 23 3/4 in.(116.8 x 60.3 cm)
Mabel Brady Garvan Collection
1930.2003
Following the Revolution, some citizens sought domestic
objects that would express in the most elaborate ways America’s pride in having
achieved independence. Shipping magnate Elias Hasket Derby (1739–1799), a
prominent citizen of Salem, Massachusetts, could well afford to do so. In
commissioning this massive piece from Stephen Badlam, a war veteran from a town
south of Boston, Derby took the unusual step of engaging leading Boston
sculptors to carve figures for the pediment of the case. Rising to the
challenge set by their patron, John Skillin and his brother Simeon created a
scheme of three females in fashionable Neoclassical dress and distinctive
accessories imbued with allegorical meaning. The figure on the left, holding an
olive wreath and a palm frond, personifies Peace. On the right is Plenty,
clasping a cornucopia. The central figure wears the gilt-sun brooch and laurel
wreath associated with Virtue, while the Phrygian cap on a liberty pole is an
attribute of Liberty. Through this combination of attributes, she represents
America.
Family tradition has it that Derby and his wife, Elizabeth
Crowninshield Derby, gave this piece as a wedding present to their daughter
Anstis, who married Benjamin Pickman, Jr., of Salem in 1789.
Geography:
Made in Dorchester Lower Mills, Massachusetts
and made in Boston, Massachusetts.
Yale University Art Gallery
Images and text from:
https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/39266
______________________________
Chest-on-chest signed John Cogswell with carving attributed
to the Skillin shop, Boston, 1782. Mahogany with white pine. H. 97", W. 44
1/4", D. 23 1/2". (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Reproduced
with permission. © 2000 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. All rights reserved. acc.
1973.289.)
An imposing chest-on-chest that reportedly belonged to Elias Hasket Derby above shares numerous construction details with the Amory desk, including the distinctive scooping out of the interior case sides. As the only piece of furniture with Cogswell’s full signature, it represents a benchmark for identifying other examples of his work .chest-on-chest separates into three sections: a lower case with four drawers, an upper case with five drawers, and a pediment. The pediment fits into a rabbet formed by the astragal molding directly below the upper fret band. It is decorated with an elaborate scrollboard appliqué, carved urn-and-flame finials, and floral garlands (of which only fragments survive that descended from the rosettes).
Part of the ornament may be from the shop of Boston carvers John and Simeon Skillin (Skillings). The bows, leaves, and flowers on the finial urns are very similar to those on the chamfered corners of another chest-on-chest that originally belonged to Derby. The latter chest is attributed to Dorchester cabinetmaker Stephen Badlam and the Skillins based on workmanship and on their respective bills to Derby for £19, “exclusive of the carving,” and £6.15.0 for “Carv’d work done for a chest of draws pr. bill given in.” The leaves, rosettes, and scrollboard appliqué on Cogswell’s chest-on-chest are less competently carved than the finials (figs. 15, 16); however, such variations are common in the products of large shops that had journeymen and apprentices.
Text and images above from -
http://www.chipstone.org/article.php/32/American-Furniture-1994/John-Cogswell-and-Boston-Bomb%C3%A9-Furniture:-Thirty-Five-Years-of-Revolution-in-Politics-and-Design
_____________________________
Desk-and-bookcase attributed to John Cogswell of Boston
with figures
attributed to the Skillin shop, Boston, 1780–1785.
Mahogany with white pine.
H.
95 1/2", W. 37 5/16", D. 20".
(Courtesy, Winterthur Museum, acc.
56.23.)
http://www.chipstone.org/images.php/32/American-Furniture-1994/John-Cogswell-and-Boston-Bomb%C3%A9-Furniture:-Thirty-Five-Years-of-Revolution-in-Politics-and-Design
________________________________
Four Seasons - Group Photograph
Metropolitan Museum, New York.
Winter.
carved wood.
30.8 cms.
c. 1810.
Gifted 1971.
Metropolitan Museum.
Fall (Autumn).
Carved wood.
12.5" 31 cms.
c.1810.
Gifted 1971.
Metropolitan Museum.
__________________________________
Summer
carved wood (no type given).
30.5 cms
Possibly made in Salem, Massachusetts, United States; Possibly made in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
carved wood (no type given).
30.5 cms
Possibly made in Salem, Massachusetts, United States; Possibly made in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Metropolitan Museum
Personifications of the four seasons were common subjects
for engravers and printmakers in the eighteenth century, but carved wood
statuettes such as these are exceedingly rare. In this set of figurines
(1971.180.83-.86), the seasons are identified by their attributes: Spring by
flowers, Summer by wheat, Autumn by a basket of fruit, and Winter by a muff.
Other than for ships’ figureheads, there was little demand in the United States
for sculptural carving during this time period.
The surviving examples of non-maritime wood sculpture originated almost exclusively in Boston or Salem, Massachusetts.
The surviving examples of non-maritime wood sculpture originated almost exclusively in Boston or Salem, Massachusetts.
These statements lifted from -
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/10037?searchField=All&sortBy=relevance&ft=american+sculpture&offset=160&rpp=80&pos=213
They appear to have missed Martin Jugiez and the Charleston carvers
_________________________
Carved Pine
Height73.66 cms
They say c. 1805
Peabody Essex Museum
https://www.pem.org/blog/adventures-in-tight-places
_________________________________
https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/liberty-41015
Liberty.
Unknown Sculptor.
Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Image courtesy http://folkartcooperstown.blogspot.com/2011/03/lady-in-winter.html
__________________________________
Samuel McIntire (1757 - 1811).
of Salem Mass.
Carver and Architect.
https://archive.org/details/essexinstitutehi93esse/page/n7
Indispensible as an introduction to Samuel Mcintire and his relationship with the Skillin family of carvers and his relationship with his clients, particularly with Elias Hasket Derby and building s in Salem. Mass.
________________
http://mcintire.pem.org/contents.php
see also
http://kellscraft.com/EarlyAmericanCraftsmen/EarlyAmericanCraftsmenCh02.html
Probably very out of date but another useful starting point.
https://archive.org/details/woodcarverofsale00cous/page/n29
______________________
John Winthrop
Samuel McIntire
1798
for William Bentley.
American Antiquarian Society.
This image from -
http://kellscraft.com/EarlyAmericanCraftsmen/EarlyAmericanCraftsmenCh02.html
______________________
John Winthrop (1587 - 1649).
Samuel Mcintire
1798
for Rev.William Bentley
Bentley Bequest 1819.
American Antiquarian Society.
William Bentley
Daybook Accounts, July 21, 1800, William Bentley Papers.
The reason for the
delay in payment is suggested by Bentley's note, "Paid MacIntire
for a Bust, 8 dollars & receipt (money lost) 8.00."
Bibleography -
"Editor's Attic," The Magazine Antiques 21(January 1932): 8, 12.
"Editor's Attic," The Magazine Antiques 28(October 1935): 138-40.
Fiske Kimball, Mr. Samuel McIntire, Carver, The Architect of Salem (Portland, Maine:
Southworth-Anthoensen Press, 1940): 138, fig. 362.
Nina Fletcher Little, "Carved Figures by Samuel McIntire and his Contemporaries," Essex
Institute Historical Collections 93(April-July 1957): 195-96, fig. 48.
Susan Geib, "Landscape and Faction: Spatial Transformation in William Bentley's Salem," Essex
Institute Historical Collections 113(July 1977): 217.
see - American Antiquarian Society.
https://www.americanantiquarian.org/Inventories/Portraits/bios/155.pdf
______________________________
Voltaire
Samuel McintireHeight 15"
Bentley bequest.
1802
Bentley paid Mcintire £8
Given by Rev. William Bentley to the American Philosophical Society in 1819
see -
Fiske Kimball, Mr.
Samuel McIntire, Carver, The Architect of Salem (Portland, Me.:
Southworth-Anthoensen Press, 1940), 139.
In this book, which is (possibly) the most complete
source on McIntire’s work, the author cites a Chelsea Derbyware figure that depicts Voltaire in a slightly
different pose, but includes a medallion identical to the one carved on the base of the bust by McIntire.
Bibleography Mcintire Voltaire
‘The Editor’s Attic,’ The Magazine Antiques 28 (October
1935): 138.
Fiske Kimball, Mr. Samuel McIntire, Carver: The Architect of
Salem (Portland, Me.:
Southworth-Anthoensen Press, 1940), 138-39, fig. 363.
Nina Fletcher Little, ‘Carved Figures by Samuel McIntire and
His Contemporaries,’ Essex
Institute Historical Collections, 93 (April-July 1957): 196,
fig. 49.
see - https://www.americanantiquarian.org/Inventories/Portraits/bios/137.pdf
____________________
Samuel McIntire was born in Salem in 1757. His father was Joseph McIntire, a joiner, and it is likely that he learned his trade from him. He studied and practised wood carving under local masters and soon became noted for his skill. This craft he practised all his life, though the need for architects where architects were scarce led him into the designing of homes.
In one sense he never became a great architect. His houses
are mostly the square, three-story mansions of the period, that leave much to
be desired in the way of grace and variety. His fame rests rather on the beauty
of the embellishments of these houses — their doorways, window frames,
cornices, gateposts, and their incomparable interior woodwork.
As was not uncommon in those days, McIntire's name suffered
many variations in spelling, but the one given here is supported by the best
authority.
He died February 6, 1811, and was laid to rest in the
Charter Street Burial Ground, Salem. His grave-stone, which is still to be
seen, reads as follows:
IN MEMORY OF
MR. SAMUEL McINTIRE
WHO DIED FEB. 6, 1811
AET. 54
He was distinguished for Genius in Architecture, Sculpture,
and Musick: Modest and sweet Manners rendered him pleasing; Industry and
Integrity respectable: He professed the Religion of Jesus in his entrance on
manly life; and proved its excellence by virtuous Principle and unblemished
conduct.
He left three children, all boys; one other died in infancy.
McIntire died intestate, but his executors drew up an
inventory of his effects which is on record in the Essex County Probate Office
and which contains much of interest to the searcher after McIntire data. This
inventory shows that he was not a rich man. His house and shop were valued at
$3,000 and his personal property at $1,190, besides some $963 in notes. This
property was left to his widow, Elizabeth McIntire.
The most interesting items on this list are his carving
tools, his books, and his music and musical instruments. He left "a large
hand organ with ten barrels," "a double bass (musical
instrument)," a violin and case, and a collection of books of music,
including an edition of Handel's "Messiah." His small but well
selected library indicates his taste and culture. Among his architectural works
were Palladio's Architecture, Ware's Architecture, Architecture by Langley,
another by Paine, Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, a book of sculptures, and
two volumes of French architecture. The possession of the Palladio explains
much.
In his shop was found a complete equipment of carver's,
joiner's, and draughting tools, including three hundred chisels and gouges and
forty-six molding planes. This set of tools was famous at the time for its size
and completeness. He also left eight of his Washington medallions and a number
of finished ornaments, etc.
In 1792 McIntire took part in the first public architectural
competition held in this country. He submitted plans for the new national
capitol at Washington, but apparently they lacked impressiveness, for they were
rejected. The original drawings, however, which are preserved by the Maryland
Historical Society, exhibit great refinement and dignity.
The Busts of John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts
Bay, and Voltaire, were both commissioned by the Reverend William Bentley in 1798-99
and later donated to the American Antiquarian Society.
William Bentley’s diary on the day that he received the
commissioned work: MacIntire returned to me my Winthrop. I cannot say that he
has expressed in the bust anything that agrees with the Governor.
He accepted it and paid McIntire his $8.00 fee.
He accepted it and paid McIntire his $8.00 fee.
Text above from:
http://kellscraft.com/EarlyAmericanCraftsmen/EarlyAmericanCraftsmenCh02.html
In 1802 the Salem Common Was graded and planted with trees
and named Washington Square. In 1805, McIntire designed and executed wooden
gateways for the east and West sides of the square — elaborate arches
embellished with carvings. For the western gateway he carved a medallion
likeness of General Washington, thirty-eight by fifty-six inches in size. When
the arches were taken down in 1850 this medallion was removed to the Town Hall
and is now to be seen at the Essex Institute. It was carved in wood after
drawings from life made by McIntire during Washington's visit to Salem in 1789.
These two pages are excerpts from - The wood-carver of Salem; Samuel McIntire, his life and work
__________________________
Figurehead
Peabody Essex Museum
______________________
The Derby Summer House.
Originally constructed at South Danvers
Built by McIntire for Elias Haskett Derby.
Carvings by the Skillin Brothers
Four Figures of A Hermit, A Shepherdess, Plenty and a Gardener
The Derby Summer House
now at the Glen Magna Farms
Danvers, Massachusetts.
Moved to its present location in 1901/2
Derby Summer House, also known as the McIntire
Tea-house, is a summer house designed in 1793 by architect Samuel McIntire, now
located on the grounds of the Glen Magna Farms, Danvers, Massachusetts. Since
1958 it has been owned by the Danvers Historical Society. A National Historic
Landmark, it is significant as an extremely rare and well-preserved example of
an 18th-century summer house, and also includes some of the earliest American
sculpture in the carved wooden figures mounted on its roof.
Page above from - Essex Institute, Historical Collections Vol XCIII, 1957.
Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.
available on line and easily searchable at
________________________________
Note the inclusion here of the Number of busts of the poets and importantly The Head of Franklin.
Is this head of Franklin the Chipstone bust?
It cannot be the bust with the frilly shirt because that bust had already entered the Collection at Yale College by 1804.
Is this head of Franklin the Chipstone bust?
It cannot be the bust with the frilly shirt because that bust had already entered the Collection at Yale College by 1804.
These two pages are excerpts from - The wood-carver of Salem; Samuel McIntire, his life and work
by Frank Cousins, & Phil M.
__________________
For More on Mcintire see -
______________________________
The Little Admiral:
Anonymous
In 1770, this stood before the Crown Coffee House, Boston at the nautical instrument shop of William Williams. Later, his successor, Samuel Thaxter, moved to State Street, taking his carved figure, about 4 feet high, with him.
Anonymous
In 1770, this stood before the Crown Coffee House, Boston at the nautical instrument shop of William Williams. Later, his successor, Samuel Thaxter, moved to State Street, taking his carved figure, about 4 feet high, with him.
______________________
The Grand Turk
Anonymous
Anonymous
A Carved Tavern Sign: The Grand Turk Inn was at either
Mystic or Stonington, Connecticut. It was probably named for Elias Hasket
Derby’s famous ship, which was one of the first in the China trade.
Illustrations above from - https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/signs-for-mariners/
This article discusses the many types of advertising signs
used in the 18th and 19th centuries to attract mariners, especially tavern
signs, as taverns provided an important place for mariners to plan voyages and
relax upon returning home. It originally appeared in the July 1939 issue of
American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948
______________________________________
Just to muddy the waters I am including some details of a couple of other 18th century American Carvers who were capable of producing similar work. This list is by no means exhaustive.
________________________
Thomas Woodin (Wooding) (d.1774) and John Lord of Charleston.
Thomas Woodin described himself as lately arrived in 1765.
John Lord described himself as a carver from London in 1766. Lord appears to have left off trading in Charleston in 1783 and probably was the John Lord of Amelia township who died in 1797.
Of tangential interest here is that Woodin's effects were auctioned after his death by the unscrupulous Fenwick(e) Bull.
Fenwick Bull in a previous existence had a print shop at the White Horse on Ludgate Hill, London where he retailed plaster casts including a bust of Handel. He was in Charleston by 1762.
see my blog post
John Lord, Charleston South Carolina
clipping from - South-Carolina
Gazette and Country Journal (May 12, 1767).
Memorial to Lady Anne Murray, attributed to John Lord,
Charleston, South Carolina, c. 1768–1772. White pine. 73 1/2" x 51 1/4".
(Courtesy, First Scots Presbyterian Church; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) As is the
case with this memorial, some eighteenth-century looking glasses were painted
in imitation of stone.
attributed to John Lord or Thomas Woodin of Charleston
Info on the monument from:
http://www.chipstone.org/article.php/594/American-Furniture-2009/American-Rococo-Looking-Glass:-From-Maker%27s-Hand-to-Patron%27s-Home
For considerably more on John Lord see the excellent -
Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts Vol XII no 2 - 1986.
Available online at
https://archive.org/details/journalofearlyso1221986muse/page/120
For considerably more on John Lord see the excellent -
Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts Vol XII no 2 - 1986.
Available online at
https://archive.org/details/journalofearlyso1221986muse/page/120
__________________
Carved Bracket from Christchurch, Philadelphia, 1753.
In November 1773 Charleston, South Carolina, carver John Lord offered his
patrons “a large assortment of The Best Vauxhall Plates for square and oval
Pier Glasses” as well as an assortment of the “most fashionable Pier Frames,
Gerandoles, . . . [and] Picture Frames.” Like Lord, most colonial carvers
supplemented their income through the sale of imported looking glasses. -Beckerdite -
______________
James Reynolds Snr. (d.1794)
Philadelphia
His arrival with his wife was announced in the Pennsylvania Gazette 21 August 1766.
Pennsylvania Gazette (September 4, 1766).
Note reference to ship work.
Reynolds has also been associated with carving patterns for the panels of cast iron stoves.
Reynolds has also been associated with carving patterns for the panels of cast iron stoves.
James Reynolds and his two sons James Jnr. and Henry
of Philadelphia, Penn.
Furniture label affixed to looking glass (c. 1795).
Decorative Arts Photographic Collection, Winterthur Library.
Refs above from - https://adverts250project.org/tag/carver/
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The Thirty carved wooden figures by Joseph Wilson
for the very eccentric "Lord" Timothy Dexter (1747 - 1805).
from his Newburyport estate Massachusetts.
Image courtesy -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/18404175496/
High Street Newburyport c. 1810
For Dexter's Magnum Opus see
http://www.lordtimothydexter.com/the_holl_pickle_1.htm#p1a
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