Henry Kirke Bush-Brown (1857–1935) was an American sculptor and the adopted nephew of sculptor
Henry Kirke Brown
Henry Kirke Brown (February 24, 1814 in Leyden, Massachusetts – July 10, 1886 in Newburgh, New York) was an American sculptor.
Life
He began to paint portraits while still a boy, studied painting in Boston under Chester Harding, learned a lit ...
. He was raised in
Newburgh, New York
Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...
and attended the
National Academy of Design
The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...
in New York City.
He became known for historically accurate realist sculptures illustrating
American history
The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...
.
Bush-Brown was married to the painter
Margaret Lesley Bush-Brown
Margaret White Lesley Bush-Brown (May 19, 1857 – November 16, 1944) was an American painter and etcher.
Biography
Bush-Brown was a native of Philadelphia, the daughter of geologist Peter Lesley and social reformer Susan Inches Lyman Lesley; he ...
, with whom he had three surviving children; their daughter,
Lydia
Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: 𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
, became a noted designer.
Bush-Brown was the first president of the
Arts Club of Washington
The Arts Club of Washington is a private club to promote the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Founded by Bertha Noyes in May 1916, its first president was Henry Kirke Bush-Brown; Mathilde Mueden Leisenring was among its original members, as were Susa ...
.
Works at Gettysburg battlefield
Bush-Brown produced three
equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
*Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
sculptures at
Gettysburg battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot ...
. The first equestrian statue ever produced by Bush-Brown was that of General
George Meade
George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate States Army, Confederate Full General (CSA), General Robert E. Lee at the Battle ...
, the victor at Gettysburg.
/ref> Located on Hancock Avenue, it is near where "Meade watched his Union troops repulse the Confederate charge." This statue was created after two years of research, and portrays "Meade without a hat, as he appeared during the battle," in keeping with Bush-Brown's commitment to historical accuracy. Meade holds a pair of binoculars in his right hand and his hat in his left hand. A sword hangs from the left side of his saddle. The monument cost $37,500. The sculpture of Meade gazes across the battlefield toward the statue of his opponent, Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
.
Following the production of ''Meade'', Bush-Brown created a 9,000-pound monument of General John F. Reynolds (killed in action July 1, 1863), in which the horse has only two feet on the ground. This statue was dedicated in 1899 at a ceremony in which Bush-Brown, Reynolds' nephew, and Pennsylvania Governor William Stone were present. The sculpture is located approximately 1100 feet from the marker where Reynolds was killed.
Bush-Brown also produced an equestrian bronze of General John Sedgwick
John Sedgwick (September 13, 1813 – May 9, 1864) was a military officer and Union Army general during the American Civil War.
He was wounded three times at the Battle of Antietam while leading his division in an unsuccessful assault against C ...
, the seniormost Union casualty of the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, who was killed later at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 1864 ...
and who had participated in the Battle of Gettysburg. The statue of Sedgwick incorporates such details as the dents in the General's scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and Lever action, lever-action ...
and the tiny stitching seen on the horse blanket
A horse blanket or rug is a blanket or animal ''coat'' intended for keeping a horse or other equine warm or otherwise protected from wind or other elements. They are tailored to fit around a horse's body from chest to rump, with straps crossing ...
.
In addition, Bush-Brown made a bust
Bust commonly refers to:
* A woman's breasts
* Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders
* An arrest
Bust may also refer to:
Places
*Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France
*Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically
Media
* ''Bust'' (magazine ...
of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, dedicated in 1912 as part of the Lincoln Speech Memorial commemorating Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a Public speaking, speech that President of the United States, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, Soldiers' National Cemetery, ...
.
Other notable works
Another of Bush-Brown's noted works was a figure of Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore, a ...
Isaac Hull
Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 – February 13, 1843) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. He commanded several famous U.S. naval warships including ("Old Ironsides") and saw service in the undeclared naval Quasi War with the revolutionary Fre ...
, one of four American naval heroes produced by various artists for the 1899 triumphal Dewey Arch __NOTOC__
The Dewey Arch was a triumphal arch that stood from 1899 to 1900 at Madison Square in Manhattan, New York. It was erected for a parade in honor of Admiral George Dewey celebrating his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philipp ...
in New York City's Madison Square
Madison Square is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, fourth President of the United States. ...
, commemorating the naval victory of Admiral George Dewey
George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with ...
at the Battle of Manila Bay
The Battle of Manila Bay ( fil, Labanan sa Look ng Maynila; es, Batalla de Bahía de Manila), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore ...
.
Bush-Brown created numerous sculptures for the exterior of New York City's Beaux Arts 1907 Surrogate's Courthouse
The Surrogate's Courthouse (also the Hall of Records and 31 Chambers Street) is a historic building at the northwest corner of Chambers and Centre Streets in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1907, it was design ...
.
In 1910 he created a bronze statue of Mary Jemison
Mary Jemison (''Deh-he-wä-nis'') (1743 – September 19, 1833) was a Scots-Irish colonial frontierswoman in Pennsylvania and New York, who became known as the "White Woman of the Genesee." As a young girl she was captured and adopted into a Sen ...
, "The White Woman of the Genesee", which marks her grave in New York's Letchworth State Park
Letchworth State Park is a List of New York state parks, New York State Park located in Livingston County, New York, Livingston County and Wyoming County, New York, Wyoming County in the western part of the New York (state), State of New York. T ...
.
Bush-Brown also produced a relief of financier and civic planner Cyrus Clark (1911), who was instrumental in the planning and development of New York City's Riverside Drive and Riverside Park. Brown's relief of Clark is embedded in a natural rock outcropping near the 83rd Street entrance to Riverside Park.
Author
Apart from his numerous sculptures related to American history, Bush-Brown was also the author of an unpublished biographical manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
detailing the life and work of his uncle. One copy of the manuscript is with the Bush-Brown family papers at Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
and another is held by the 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 is ...
.
Bush-Brown died in Washington, D.C. and was buried in Memorial Cemetery, Arundel, Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
.
Gallery
Image:JFReynolds GB2.jpg, Detail of John F. Reynolds sculpture from Gettysburg Battlefield.
Image:Valley Forge Anthony Wayne statue.jpg, American Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...
sculpture at Valley Forge
Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
Image:Dewey Arch 1900 Color.jpg, The Dewey Arch __NOTOC__
The Dewey Arch was a triumphal arch that stood from 1899 to 1900 at Madison Square in Manhattan, New York. It was erected for a parade in honor of Admiral George Dewey celebrating his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philipp ...
in New York City at Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
and 24th street, 1900; Bush-Brown created the figure of Isaac Hull
Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 – February 13, 1843) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. He commanded several famous U.S. naval warships including ("Old Ironsides") and saw service in the undeclared naval Quasi War with the revolutionary Fre ...
in the top row of four figures.
Image:Union Club Philly Statue 1.jpg, 1st Regiment Infantry National Guard of Philadelphia
Additional Information
Henry Kirke Bush-Brown Papers, 1857–1935
Sophia Smith Collection
The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history.
General
One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, ar ...
, Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
.
References
External links
Henry Kirke Bush-Brown at Gettysburg Sculptures
Catalog at Smithsonian
Image of ''Spirit of '61'' sculpture, Philadelphia, PA
Bush-Brown Family Papers, 1835-1969
Sophia_Smith_Collection
.html" ;"title="Sophia Smith Collection">Sophia Smith Collection
">Sophia Smith Collection">Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush-Brown, Henry Kirke
1857 births
1935 deaths
19th-century American male artists
19th-century American sculptors
20th-century American male artists
20th-century American sculptors
American male sculptors
Burials in Maryland
National Academy of Design alumni
National Sculpture Society members
People from Newburgh, New York
Sculptors from New York (state)