Bela Lyon Pratt (December 11, 1867 – May 18, 1917) was an American
sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
from
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
.
Life
Pratt was born in
Norwich, Connecticut, to Sarah (Whittlesey) and George Pratt, a Yale-educated lawyer. His maternal grandfather, Oramel Whittlesey, was a
pianoforte maker and founder in 1835 of
Music Vale Seminary
Music Vale Seminary, also known as the Salem Normal Academy of Music, was a Normal school, normal Music school, music conservatory for women in Salem, Connecticut, Salem, Connecticut. It was the first accredited music school in the United States. ...
in Salem, Connecticut, the first music school in the country authorized to confer degrees to teach music. At 16, Pratt began studying at the
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
School of Fine Arts, where his teachers included
John Henry Niemeyer (1839–1932) and
John Ferguson Weir (1841–1926).
After graduating from Yale, he enrolled at the
Art Students League of New York where he took classes from
William Merritt Chase (1849–1916),
Kenyon Cox
Kenyon Cox (October 27, 1856 – March 17, 1919) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, writer, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York. He was the designer of the League ...
(1859–1919),
Francis Edwin Elwell (1858–1922), and most important,
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he trav ...
(1848–1907), who became his mentor. After a short stint in Saint-Gaudens' private studio, Pratt traveled to Paris, where he trained with sculptors
Henri-Michel-Antoine Chapu (1833–1891) and
Alexandre Falguière
Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguière (also given as Jean-Joseph-Alexandre Falguière, or in short Alexandre Falguière) (7 September 183120 April 1900) was a French sculptor and painter.
Biography
Falguière was born in Toulouse. A pupil of the � ...
(1831–1900) at the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...
.
In 1892, he returned to the United States to create two large sculptural groups representing ''The Genius of Navigation'' for the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) 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. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. He also produced sculptures for the
Pan-American Exposition
The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...
at
Buffalo in 1901. In 1893, he began a 25-year career as an influential teacher of modeling in the
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (Museum School, SMFA at Tufts, or SMFA; formerly the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) is the art school of Tufts University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusett ...
. One of Pratt's most famous students at the School was
John A. Wilson. During this time, Pratt sculpted a series of busts of Boston's intellectual community, including Episcopal minister
Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks (December 13, 1835January 23, 1893) was an American Episcopal clergyman and author, long the Rector of Boston's Trinity Church and briefly Bishop of Massachusetts. He wrote the lyrics of the Christmas hymn, " O Little Town o ...
(1899, Brooks House,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
), Colonel Henry Lee (1902, Memorial Hall,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
), and
Boston Symphony Orchestra founder
Henry Lee Higginson
Henry Lee Higginson (November 18, 1834 – November 14, 1919) was an American businessman best known as the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a patron of Harvard University.
Biography
Higginson was born in New York City on November 18 ...
(1909,
Symphony Hall, Boston
Symphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, opened in 1900. Designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead and White, it was built for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the h ...
). He became an associate of the
National Academy
A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with State (polity), state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but ...
in 1900.
(1)
When Saint-Gaudens' uncompleted group for the entrance to the
Boston Public Library was rejected, Pratt was awarded a commission for personifications of Art and Science. Pratt continued Saint-Gaudens' influence in coin design after 1907. His gold Indian Head
half ($5) and
quarter ($2.50) eagle gold U.S. coins are known as the "
Pratt coins" and feature an unusual intaglio Indian head, the U.S. mint's only recessed design in circulation. A memorial exhibition of 125 of his sculptures was held at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in the spring of 1918.
["Memorial Exhibition of the Work of Bela Lyon Pratt," ''Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston'', vol. 16 (Spring 1918), pp. 28-29.]
Pratt's students included
Frederick Warren Allen
Frederick Warren Allen (1888–1961) was an American sculptor of the Boston School. One of the most prominent sculptors in Boston during the early 20th century and a master teacher at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Allen had a career in ...
,
Daisy Blanche King.,
Bashka Paeff, and
Richard Henry Recchia
Richard Henry Recchia (November 20, 1885 - August 17, 1983) was an American sculptor.
Recchia was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, with the given name Ricardo; his father was a marble carver who had worked for Bela Pratt and Daniel Chester French. ...
, as well as his son
Dudley Pratt
Dudley Pratt (June 14, 1897 – November 18, 1975) was an American sculptor. He was born in Paris, France to Boston sculptors Bela and Helen Pratt. His sculptural education included study under Charles Grafly, Antoine Bourdelle, and Alexander ...
.
Selected works
* 1892 ''The Genius of Navigation'' –
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) 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. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
* 1892 ''The Genius of Discovery'' –
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) 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. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
* 1893 ''Clara and Lizzie, Daughters of Frederick and Elizabeth Shattuck'' (plaque) –
National Gallery of Art
* 1895 ''Literature, Science, Art'' (
Spandrel figures)
Thomas Jefferson Building,
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
,
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
* 1896 ''The Four Seasons'' (plaques) – 2nd floor pavilions, Thomas Jefferson Building,
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
*1896 ''Figure of Victory'' - #1 turret U.S.S. Massachusetts, (Sculpture now housed at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland).
* 1897 ''Dr.
Henry Augustus Coit'' –
St. Paul's School,
Concord
Concord may refer to:
Meaning "agreement"
* Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony)
* Harmony, in music
* Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
* 1902 ''General Benjamin Franklin Butler Monument'' - Hildreth Cemetery, Lowell, Massachusetts
* 1906 ''Young Soldier'' –
St. Paul's School,
Concord, New Hampshire
* 1907 ''
Andersonville Boy'' – State Capitol Grounds,
Hartford, Connecticut
* 1908 ''Abraham Lincoln Monument'' – Lowell, Massachusetts
* 1910 ''Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument'',
Bell Rock Memorial Park,
Malden, Massachusetts
* 1910 ''
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion.
He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
'' –
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
* 1910 ''Art'' w/palette right, ''Science'' w/sphere left,
Boston Public Library,
Boston, Massachusetts
*
Army Nurses Memorial
* 1913 ''Whaleman's Monument'' –
New Bedford, Massachusetts
* 1913 ''
Edward Everett Hale
Edward Everett Hale (April 3, 1822 – June 10, 1909) was an American author, historian, and Unitarian minister, best known for his writings such as " The Man Without a Country", published in '' Atlantic Monthly'', in support of the Union ...
'' –
Boston Public Garden
The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent to Boston Common. It is a part of the Emerald Necklace system of parks, and is bounded by Charles Street and Boston Common to ...
,
Boston, Massachusetts
* 1913 ''
Schoolboy Statue of 1850'' – Ashburnham, MA
* 1914 ''Grieving Mother'' -
Washington Memorial Chapel,
Valley Forge National Historical Park, Pennsylvania
* 1914 ''
Captain Nathan Hale'' –
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
**
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
, Quantico, Virginia
**
Department of Justice Building, Washington, D.C.
**''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'', Chicago, Illinois
**
Fort Nathan Hale, New Haven, Connecticut
* 1916 ''Reverend
Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks (December 13, 1835January 23, 1893) was an American Episcopal clergyman and author, long the Rector of Boston's Trinity Church and briefly Bishop of Massachusetts. He wrote the lyrics of the Christmas hymn, " O Little Town o ...
'', Old Common,
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915.
History
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...
Gallery
File:Genius_of_Navigation_by_Bela_Pratt.jpg, ''Genius of Navigon'' (1893), World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois
File:The_genius_of_discovery.jpg, ''Genius of Discovery (1893), World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois
File:Figure of Victory by Bela Lyon Pratt, U.S.S. Massachusetts.jpg, ''Figure of Victory'' (1896), #1 turret U.S.S. Massachusetts
File:General Butler's Monument (Rear).jpg, ''General Butler Monument'' (1902), Lowell, Massachusetts
Image:Young Soldier by Bela Pratt, St. Paul's School - Concord, New Hampshire.JPG, ''Young Soldier'' (1906), St. Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire
File:Andersonville Boy Civil War Monument by Bela Pratt, Hartford, CT - February 2016.JPG, ''Andersonville Boy'' (1907), State Capitol grounds, Hartford, Connecticut
File:Abraham Lincoln Relief by Bela Pratt - Boston, MA - DSC08086.JPG, ''Relief Portrait of Abraham Lincoln'' (1908), Lowell, Massachusetts
File:MaldenMA BellRockParkCivilWarMemorial.jpg, ''Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument'' (1910), Malden, Massachusetts
File:Nathaniel Hawthorne (Sculpture) -- Detail.JPG, ''Nathaniel Hawthorne'' (1910), Salem, Massachusetts
File:Edward Everett Hale by Bela Pratt - Boston Public Garden - DSC08212.JPG, ''Edward Everett Hale'' (1913), Boston Public Garden
File:Valley Forge National Historical Park 2013-09-30 23-52-57.jpg, ''Grieving Mother'' (1914), Washington Memorial Chapel, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
File:Nathan Hale by Bela Lyon Pratt at the Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, USA.jpg, ''Captain Nathan Hale'' (1914), Chicago Tribune Building, Chicago, Illinois
References
* Downes, William Howe. "The Work of Bela L. Pratt, Sculptor." ''
New England Magazine'' 27 (February 1903): 760–771.
* Coburn, Frederick W. "Americanism in Sculpture. As Represented in the Works of Bela Lyon Pratt." ''Palette and Bench'' 2, nos. 5 and 6 (February–March 1910): 95–97, 127–131.
* Dorr, Charles Henry. "Bela L. Pratt: An Eminent New England Sculptor." ''
Architectural Record
''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...
'' 35, no. 6 (June 1914): 508–518.
* Obituary, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' (19 May 1917).
* Taft, Lorado. ''The History of American Sculpture'', New York, 1924: 491–496.
;Specific
External links
AAAS Names of members
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Bela
1867 births
1917 deaths
Yale School of Art alumni
People from Norwich, Connecticut
American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts
Sculptors from Connecticut
Art Students League of New York alumni
School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts faculty
20th-century American sculptors
20th-century American male artists
19th-century American sculptors
19th-century male artists
Sculptors from New York (state)
Artists of the Boston Public Library
American currency designers
Coin designers
19th-century American male artists