![Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture9](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Brookgreen_Gardens_Sculpture9.jpg)
Janet Scudder (October 27, 1869 – June 9, 1940), born Netta Deweze Frazee Scudder, 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 ...
and painter from
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
, who is best known for her memorial sculptures,
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
portraiture, and portrait medallions, as well as her garden sculptures and fountains. Her first major commission was the design for the seal of the New York Bar Association around 1896. Scudder's ''Frog Fountain'' (1901) led to the series of sculptures and fountains for which she is best known. Later commissions included a
Congressional Gold Medal
The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...
honoring
Domício da Gama
Domício da Gama (October 23, 1862 – November 8, 1925) was a Brazilian journalist, diplomat and writer. He was Brazil's ambassador to the United States from 1911 to 1918. In 1918 he became Brazil's minister of Foreign Affairs. From 1919 to 192 ...
(
Brazil's ambassador to the United States) and a commemorative medal for
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
's centennial in 1916. Scudder also displayed her work at numerous national and international exhibitions in the United States and in Europe from the late 1890s to the late 1930s. Scudder's autobiography, ''Modeling My Life'', was published in 1925.
Scudder received art training at the
Art Academy of Cincinnati
The Art Academy of Cincinnati is a private college of art and design in Cincinnati, Ohio, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. It was founded as the McMicken School of Design in 1869, and was a department of the U ...
in 1887–89 and 1890–91 and the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
in 1891–92. In addition, she worked as an assistant to
Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for decad ...
during preparations 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
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in
Chicago
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, in 1892–93, and with
Frederick W. MacMonnies in Paris, France in 1894–96, while continuing her art studies at the
Académie Vitti
The Académie Vitti was an art school in Paris, France.
It was founded and operated by a family of Italian artists' models from the Valle di Comino to the south of Rome.
The academy was progressive in its support for women artists, and gained a hig ...
and the
Académie Colarossi. Scudder was a member of New York State Woman Suffrage Association, the art committee of the
National American Woman Suffrage Association
The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was an organization formed on February 18, 1890, to advocate in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National ...
, and in 1920, was elected an associate of 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 ...
. Scudder was named a Chevalier of the
French Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
in 1925 for her relief work as a
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
volunteer in France during World War I.
Scudder was the recipient of several awards and prizes for her artwork, including a Bronze Medal,
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
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordi ...
, 1893; a Bronze Medal,
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...
, 1904; a Silver Medal,
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, 1915; and a Silver Medal,
International Exposition
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
, 1937, among others. Her work is represented in the collections of the
Musée d'Orsay
The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...
in the
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in France, and in the United States at 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 ...
, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
, the
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...
,
Brookgreen Gardens
Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens featuring American figurative sculptures, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails thro ...
, the
Huntington Library, Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens, the
Indianapolis Museum of Art
The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, the Gardens at Newfields, the Beer Garden, and more. It i ...
; the
Indiana State Museum
The Indiana State Museum is a museum located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum houses exhibits on the science, art, culture, and history of Indiana from prehistoric times to the present day.
History
The original collec ...
, the
Indiana Historical Society
The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street ...
, the
Swope Art Museum
The Sheldon Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States, was originally funded by a bequest from Michael Sheldon Swope (1843–1929), a Civil War veteran and jeweler who lived in Terre Haute much of his adult life. Planning for the ar ...
, and the
Richmond Art Museum
The Richmond Art Museum was founded in 1898 as the Art Association of Richmond, Indiana. Artist John Elwood Bundy and author and attorney William Dudley Foulke were instrumental in the founding.
Permanent collection
Its collection includes imp ...
.
Early life and education
Netta Deweze Frazee Scudder was born on October 27, 1869, in
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
, to Mary (Sparks) and William Hollingshead Scudder. "Nettie" as she was called by her family was the fifth of seven children and had a childhood marred by tragedy.
Her father was a confectioner who was active in community affairs. Her mother died at the age of thirty-eight, when "Nettie" Scudder was five years old. Four of Scudder's siblings died before they reached adulthood. Scudder's father, a blind grandmother, and Hannah Hussey (the family maid, cook, and housekeeper) raised the surviving children. Her father later married a woman whom Scudder disliked.
Scudder enjoyed drawing as a child and took Saturday art classes at Rose Polytechnic Institute of Technology (present-day Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) under the direction of Professor William Ames. After graduating from Terre Haute High School in 1887, she enrolled at the Cincinnati Art Academy, despite the family's fragile financial resources, and soon changed her name to Janet Scudder. At Cincinnati she studied sculpture with Italian-born sculptor Louis Rebisso
Louis Thomas Rebisso (1837 in Italy – 3 May 1899 in Norwood, Ohio) was an Italian-born American sculptor and teacher.
Biography
In Italy, Rebisso studied with the sculptor Rubalto and in an art academy under Varni. At 20, he joined in Giuseppe ...
, as well as decorative design, woodcarving, and painting.[Newton and Weiss, ''Skirting the Issue'', pp. 36–37, 319.]
In 1888–89, Scudder returned home to Terre Haute, where the family's hardships continued after the death of one of her brothers, the failure of her father's business, and his death in 1888. To help with household expenses, twenty-year-old Scudder taught woodcarving at a local school, Coates College for Women. Scudder's oldest brother, who was living in Chicago
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, paid for her return to Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
in 1890 so that she could complete her studies at the academy. In 1891, Scudder moved to Chicago to live with her brother and his family while she attended classes at the Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
under the direction of John Vanderpoel
John Henry Vanderpoel (November 15, 1857 – May 2, 1911), born Johannes (Jan) van der Poel, was a Dutch-American artist and teacher, best known as an instructor of figure drawing. His book ''The Human Figure'', a standard art school resource fea ...
and Frederick Freer.[ Scudder also took classes with French-trained sculptor ]Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for decad ...
at the Art Institute during 1893–94. While living in Paris, in the mid-1890s, she took classes at the Académie Vitti
The Académie Vitti was an art school in Paris, France.
It was founded and operated by a family of Italian artists' models from the Valle di Comino to the south of Rome.
The academy was progressive in its support for women artists, and gained a hig ...
and studied drawing with painter Luc-Olivier Merson
Luc-Olivier Merson (21 May 1846 – 13 November 1920) was a French academic painter and illustrator also known for his postage stamp and currency designs.
Biography
Born Nicolas Luc-Olivier Merson in Paris, France, he grew up in an artist ...
at the Académie Colarossi.[Newton and Weiss, ''Skirting the Issue'', pp. 39 and 319.]
Career
Early years as a sculptor
After her move to Chicago in 1891, Scudder intended to earn a living as a wood carver
Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...
and was briefly employed in a furniture factory that produced architectural decorations.[ She left the job because the union did not permit women members. In 1892–93, Scudder found work with the sculptor ]Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for decad ...
as one of his assistants, earning US$5 a day for her work on monumental sculptures for the upcoming 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
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordi ...
in Chicago.[Newton and Weiss, ''Skirting the Issue'', pp. 37 and 39.] (Scudder was one of a group of women sculptors and assistants working for Taft who were nicknamed the White Rabbits. Scudder was also commissioned to create a figure of ''Justice'' for the exposition's Illinois Building and modeled the ''Nymph of Wabash'' sculpture for the Indiana Building at the fair. For her work at the exposition, Scudder won a bronze medal, as well as US$1,000 from the citizens of Terre Haute, who expected to display her ''Nymph'' sculpture at the city's library.[
After seeing Frederick W. MacMonnies's fountain "the Barge of State" at the World's Fair, Scudder decided to go to Paris in 1894, hoping to study with him. Scudder traveled to France with Zulime Taft (Lorado Taft's sister) and persuaded MacMonnies to hire her. At the age of twenty-five, Scudder became the first woman he employed at his atelier.] Scudder assisted MacMonnies on projects such as his ''Shakespeare'' for 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 ...
in Washington, D.C.
)
, 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, ...
, in addition to studying at the Académie Vitti
The Académie Vitti was an art school in Paris, France.
It was founded and operated by a family of Italian artists' models from the Valle di Comino to the south of Rome.
The academy was progressive in its support for women artists, and gained a hig ...
and at the Académie Colarossi. Scudder abruptly left MacMonnies's Paris studio in 1896, after a colleague gave her the inaccurate impression that he disapproved of her work. She returned to the United States and tried unsuccessfully to find work as a sculptor in 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 trave ...
's studio in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.[Newton and Weiss, ''Skirting the Issue'', p. 40.]
First major commission
Through her friendship with fellow art student Matilda Auchincloss Brownell, whom she met during her trip home from France, and Brownell's father, Silas B. Brownell, the secretary of the New York Bar Association from 1878 to 1916, Scudder secured her first major commission in 1894. The US$750 she received to design a seal for the New York Bar Association provided her with the funds move to a better location in the city. The project also led to opportunities for steady work making plaques, portrait medallions, architectural ornamentation, and funerary urns, as well as sculpting.[Newton and Weiss, ''Skirting the Issue'', pp. 41–42.] Scudder was especially adept at bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
portraiture, which became a specialty.[
]
Return to Europe
In 1898 Scudder returned to Paris for more training, resuming drawing classes at Académie Colorossi. Accompanied by Brownell and Brownell's maid, the three women spent several years living in a home in Paris's Montparnasse
Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...
neighborhood. Scudder and Brownell also spent the winter of 1899–1900 in Italy, where Scudder found fresh inspiration in Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
's ornamental fountain statuary and Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
sculpture, especially Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...
's sculptures in the Bargello
The Bargello, also known as the Palazzo del Bargello, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People), was a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence, Italy.
Terminology
The word ''bargello'' appears ...
museum and the cherub
A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...
ic figures of Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio (, , ; – 1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was a sculptor, Italian painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence. He apparently became known as ''Verrocchio'' after the ...
in the Palazzo Vecchio
The Palazzo Vecchio ( "Old Palace") is the City hall, town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David (Michelangelo), David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent ...
.
Frog Fountain
After her visit to Italy, Scudder returned to Paris in 1900 and began making amusing sculptures and fountains featuring lively children, which she called her "water babies." Beginning with ''Frog Fountain'' (1901), a figure of a young boy looking down upon frogs, Scudder launched her career as a prolific and successful maker of ornamental garden fountains and sculptures. Scudder brought ''Frog Fountain'' to New York City, where architect Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...
bought a bronzed cast of it for his estate on Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
.[
''Frog Fountain'' was her first work in a series of ornamental garden sculptures. Scudder produced five versions of this fountain, with the last one made for the ]Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in New York City.[The Met purchased their bronze ''Frog Fountain'' from Scudder at a generous discount for its permanent collections in 1906. See: Dimmick and Hassler, ''American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art''.] One of the other bronze versions of ''Frog Fountain'' made for a garden in the eastern United States was presented to the Woman's Department Club of Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, Indiana, in 1928. When the group's clubhouse was sold in 1964, the sculpture was donated to the Indianapolis Museum of Art
The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, the Gardens at Newfields, the Beer Garden, and more. It i ...
. Two other bronze versions are on the grounds of private residences in Stonington, Connecticut
The town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and W ...
, and Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...
, but the original plaster of ''Frog Fountain'' has been destroyed.[
Numerous smaller versions of the sculpture (, (, and ( tall) were cast in bronze and intended for parlor or fountain pieces. In 1905 Stanford White commissioned a ]marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
version of ''Frog Fountain'' with cattails for the James L. Breese estate home in Southampton, New York, Now called Whitefield Estate (Condominiums) but the marble Frog Baby fountain sculpture's location is unclear.[
]
Other notable works
Scudder contributed a decorative figure representing ''Music'' to the 1900 Paris Exposition, and created other versions of garden fountains, most notably ''Tortoise Fountain'' (1908) and ''Young Diana'', the latter of which earned an honorable mention at the Salon (Paris)
The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...
of 1911. Stanford White, who became a personal friend of hers, regularly ordered sculptures from Scudder until his death in 1906. She created at least thirty fountains as commissions for the homes of wealthy Americans. These included ''Piping Pan'' (1911) for John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
, ''Shell Fountain'' (1913) for Edith Rockefeller McCormick
Edith Rockefeller McCormick (August 31, 1872 – August 25, 1932) was an American socialite, daughter of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller.
She and her husband Harold Fowler McCormick were prominent in Chicago society, supporting many ...
, and other works for Henry Huntington.[
In addition to commissions for sculptures and decorative fountains, Scudder designed a ]Congressional Gold Medal
The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...
dated March 4, 1915, to honor Domício da Gama
Domício da Gama (October 23, 1862 – November 8, 1925) was a Brazilian journalist, diplomat and writer. He was Brazil's ambassador to the United States from 1911 to 1918. In 1918 he became Brazil's minister of Foreign Affairs. From 1919 to 192 ...
( Brazil's ambassador to the United States) for his services as a mediator between the United States and the leaders of opposing forces in Mexico. Scudder also received a commission from the Indiana Historical Commission to design a commemorative medal for Indiana's centennial in 1916 (the one hundredth anniversary of its admittance as the nineteenth state in the Union).
Exhibitions
During the early twentieth century, the height of her career, Scudder's works were exhibited in numerous public museums and at private galleries. Her first solo art show was held in 1913 at Theodore B. Starr galleries in New York City. In addition, Scudder's work was exhibited at several major national and international expositions during her lifetime: the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago), 1893; Salon (Paris), 1899–1901, 1905, 1908, 1910–14, 1922, 1926, 1932, 1939; the Exposition Universelle (Paris), 1900; 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 ...
(Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
), 1901; Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...
(St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
), 1904; American Pavilion, International Exposition (Rome, Italy), 1911; and the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition (San Francisco, California), 1915.[Newton and Weiss, ''Skirting the Issue'', pp. 319–20.] She also exhibited at the Hoosier Salon
The Hoosier Salon is an annual juried art exhibition that features the work of Indiana artists and provides them with an outlet to market their work. The Hoosier Salon Patron's Association, the nonprofit arts organization that organizes the event, ...
in Indiana in 1926, 1927, 1933, and 1934; the International Exposition
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
(Paris), 1937; and at the 1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...
.[Newton and Weiss, ''A Grand Tradition'', pp. 3 and 293.] Her work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...
.
Other interests
Scudder was a feminist and women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
advocate who frequently marched in parades and demonstrations involved with women's issues. She became involved in women's suffrage movement in New York in 1915 and was a member of New York State Woman Suffrage Association.[Newton and Weiss, ''Skirting the Issue'', p. 321.] She was also a member of the art committee of the National American Women Suffrage Association. Scudder opposed separate exhibitions for male and female artists and disliked the separate sex and gender references used to describe artists. A ''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 ...
'' feature article about Scudder in 1912 described her as a woman who "disdains her gender" and quoted her critical comments about women artists who were not serious about the profession. Scudder was more positive in her assessment of women's progress, arguing that women were as capable as men. She believed that women artists were strong enough to handle the physical demands of the work.
During World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Scudder was active in relief work in France as well as the United States. She offered her home at Ville d'Avray to the French government, who used it as a hospital. Scudder served as a Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
volunteer while renting an apartment in Paris, but returned to New York City before end of the war. She also continued to produce garden statuary during the war years. After an armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
was declared in 1918, Scudder divided her time between her studios in New York and in France.[Newton and Weiss, ''Skirting the Issue'', p. 44.]
Scudder was named a Chevalier (knight) of the French Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
in 1925 for her wartime service to France. Her sculpture, ''Victory'', also known as ''Feminine Victory'' or ''Femina Victrix'', which symbolized women's contributions during World War I, served as a model for a proposed National Suffrage Monument in Washington, D.C.
)
, 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, ...
In addition, it won a US$300 prize at the Hoosier Salon
The Hoosier Salon is an annual juried art exhibition that features the work of Indiana artists and provides them with an outlet to market their work. The Hoosier Salon Patron's Association, the nonprofit arts organization that organizes the event, ...
exhibition in her home state of Indiana in 1926 for Outstanding Piece of Sculpture.[
]
Personal life
A frequent traveler between New York and France, Scudder maintained art studios in New York City and in Paris, but preferred to live in Paris where her social circle grew to include Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...
, Alice B. Toklas, Mildred Aldrich
Mildred Aldrich was an American journalist, editor, writer and translator. She spent her early career as a journalist and editor in Boston before moving to Paris, where she continued working as a foreign correspondent and translator. In 1914, sho ...
, and Eva Mudocci
Eva Mudocci (1872–1953), born Evangeline Hope Muddock, was an English violinist, who toured Europe with the pianist Bella Edwards. She was the friend and probably lover of the artist Edvard Munch.
Early life
She was born Evangeline Hope Mud ...
. After American sculptor Malvina Hoffman
Malvina Cornell Hoffman (June 15, 1885July 10, 1966) was an American sculptor and author, well known for her life-size bronze sculptures of people. She also worked in plaster and marble. Hoffman created portrait busts of working-class people and ...
arrived in Paris around 1910, she worked for a time as Scudder's studio assistant.
In 1913 Scudder purchased a home at Ville d'Avray on the outskirts of Paris and for several years made it her primary residence. Author Marion Cothren
Marion Benedict Cothren (1880–1949) was an American suffrage and peace activist, lawyer, and children's author.
Early life and education
Marion Benedict was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York by her parents William Marsh Benedict (a lawyer) ...
was Scudder's partner in Paris and New York during the final years of her life.[Newton and Weiss, ''Skirting the Issue'', pp. 45 and 321.]
Later years
By the 1920s, Scudder's sculptural forms became more "reserved," "rigid," and "stylized," in contrast to the "active, dynamic composition" of her earlier and best-known work.[ Despite this major change in her style, and her most productive years had passed, Scudder continued to sculpt and exhibit her work in the United States and in Europe. In her later years, but she also pursued painting, color theory, and for a brief time, architecture. Her autobiography, ''Modeling My Life'', was published in 1925.][
Scudder spent most of the last decade of her life in Paris, where she painted and continued to sculpt. In 1939, she returned to New York to reside with her companion, author Marion Benedict Cothren.][
]
Death and legacy
Scudder died of pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
on June 9, 1940, at the age of seventy, while vacationing in Rockport, Massachusetts
Rockport is a seaside New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,992 in 2020. Rockport is located approximately northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula. Rockport borders Gloucester ...
.
In 1912, a feature article in the ''New York Times'' described Scudder as "one of the foremost woman sculptors of America."[ She is one of the first Americans to focus on bronze ornamental garden fountains. In addition to sculptures, Scudder also produced portrait medallions, architectural ornamentation, and funerary urns and painted in oil.][
Scudder's art has been displayed at numerous national and international exhibitions from 1893 to 1937, as well as at public museums in the United States. These include 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 ...
, New York City; the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
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, Maryl ...
, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
; the Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ov ...
; Richmond Art Museum
The Richmond Art Museum was founded in 1898 as the Art Association of Richmond, Indiana. Artist John Elwood Bundy and author and attorney William Dudley Foulke were instrumental in the founding.
Permanent collection
Its collection includes imp ...
, Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...
; Art Institute of Chicago; John Herron Art Institute and Indianapolis Museum of Art
The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, the Gardens at Newfields, the Beer Garden, and more. It i ...
, Indianapolis; Dallas Art Association; National Museum of Women in the Arts
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openin ...
, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis Institute of Art
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...
; San Diego Museum of Art
The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Galler ...
. She also exhibited her work at shows for the Architectural League of New York
The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines".
The league dates from 1881, when Cass Gilbert organized meetings at the Salmagundi Club for ...
, the National Sculpture Society
Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members ...
, the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors
The National Association of Women Artists, Inc. (NAWA) is a United States organization, founded in 1889 to gain recognition for professional women fine artists in an era when that field was strongly male-oriented. It sponsors exhibitions, awards ...
, the Hoosier Salon
The Hoosier Salon is an annual juried art exhibition that features the work of Indiana artists and provides them with an outlet to market their work. The Hoosier Salon Patron's Association, the nonprofit arts organization that organizes the event, ...
, and at private galleries.[
]
Honors and awards
*1893, Bronze Medal, World's Columbian Exposition[Newton and Weiss, ''Skirting the Issue'', p. 320.]
*1898, Honorable Mention, Sun Dial Competition[
*1904, Bronze Medal, Louisiana Purchase Exposition][
*1911, Honorable Mention, Paris Salon][
*1915, Silver Medal, Panama-Pacific International Exposition][
*1920, elected an associate of 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 ...
.
*1925, named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
for her relief work during World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
*1937, Silver Medal, International Exposition, Paris[
*Scudder is the first woman to have her work purchased by the ]Musée du Luxembourg
The Musée du Luxembourg () is a museum at 19 rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Established in 1750, it was initially an art museum located in the east wing of the Luxembourg Palace (the matching west wing housed the Marie de' M ...
.[
*A portrait of Scudder in the National Academy of Design collection was painted by ]Margaret Bucknell Pecorini
Margaret Bucknell Pecorini (1879–1963) was an American painter.
A native of Philadelphia, Margaret Crozer Bucknell was the daughter of the patron of Bucknell University, William Bucknell and his third wife, ''Titanic'' survivor Emma (Ward) Bu ...
.[
]
Selected works
File:Seated Faun by Janet Scudder, 1924, bronze - Brooklyn Museum - DSC09631.JPG, Seated Faun, 1924
File:Bird Bath by Janet Scudder 1921.png, Bird Bath, 1921
File:Master Billy Fahnestock MET LC-09 20 4.jpg, Portrait medallion: Master Billy Fahnestock
File:Royal Parsons MET AW 09 20 1.jpg, Bas-relief portrait: Royal Parsons
File:Helen Seely MET AW 09 20 3.jpg, Bas-relief portrait: Helen Seely
File:Mildred Barnes MET AW 09 20 2.jpg, Bas-relief: Mildred Barnes
Publications
''Modeling My Life'' (1925), an autobiography
Public art collections
Scudder's work is represented in the collections of 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 ...
, Washington, D.C.; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago, the Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...
, Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, 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 ...
; Brookgreen Gardens
Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens featuring American figurative sculptures, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails thro ...
, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
Murrells Inlet is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,547 at the 2010 census. It is about 13 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and 21 miles north ...
; the Huntington Library, Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California
San Marino is a residential city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2010 census the population was 13,147. The city is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of househol ...
; the Indianapolis Museum of Art; the Indiana State Museum
The Indiana State Museum is a museum located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum houses exhibits on the science, art, culture, and history of Indiana from prehistoric times to the present day.
History
The original collec ...
and the Indiana Historical Society
The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street ...
, Indianapolis; Swope Art Museum
The Sheldon Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States, was originally funded by a bequest from Michael Sheldon Swope (1843–1929), a Civil War veteran and jeweler who lived in Terre Haute much of his adult life. Planning for the ar ...
, Terre Haute, Indiana; the Richmond Art Museum, Richmond, Indiana; the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (transferred from Musée du Luxembourg), Paris; and the Musée d'Orsay
The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...
, Paris.[
]
Notes
References
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Further reading
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External links
''Paintings by Janet Scudder''
announcement for an exhibition from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF)
*
Bronze copy of Congressional Gold Medal for Domicio Da Gama
Indiana Historical Society
The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street ...
collections, Indianapolis
Indiana Medal for the State’s Centennial
Indiana Historical Society collections, Indianapolis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scudder, Janet
1869 births
1940 deaths
American feminists
American women sculptors
American suffragists
Sculptors from Indiana
Artists from Chicago
People from Terre Haute, Indiana
People from Rockport, Massachusetts
Art Students League of New York alumni
Sculptors from Massachusetts
19th-century American sculptors
20th-century American sculptors
20th-century American women artists
National Sculpture Society members
Académie Colarossi alumni
19th-century American women artists
Sculptors from New York (state)
Sculptors from Illinois
Olympic competitors in art competitions
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
American women painters