John Henry Waddell (February 14, 1921 – November 27, 2019) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sculptor, painter and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He had a long career in art education and has many sculptures on public display, but he may be best known for '' That Which Might Have Been''—his memorial to the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

Early life

Waddell was born in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

in 1921 and moved to

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, at the age of ten. There he began to study art at the Katherine Lord Studio, and by the age of 16 was teaching classes there. In 1939, he graduated from

Evanston Township High School Evanston Township High School (ETHS) District 202, is a four-year public high school occupying a campus in Evanston, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS was established in 1883 and serves the city of Evanston ...

and moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

where he attended the School of the Art Institute. In 1942, Waddell married his first wife, Elizabeth Owen, and they had three children: Sean Owen, Seamus, and Seanchan Waddell. Elizabeth and John divorced in 1948. At the time, he was working at Buick Aviation Plant,

Melrose Park, Illinois Melrose Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 24,796. Melrose Park had long been home to a large Italian-American population. The suburb was the home of ...

—as America had entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Waddell's education was interrupted by a stint in the US Army 1943-1945. Serving as Private First Class during the War, one of his contributions was as a muralist of hope. On the GI Bill, Waddell returned to the School of the Art Institute. He earned two Master's Degrees there and later an Honorary Doctorate from the National College of Education, Chicago (now known as

National Louis University National Louis University (NLU) is a private university with its main campus in Chicago, Illinois. NLU enrolls undergraduate and graduate students in more than 60 programs across its four colleges. It has locations throughout the Chicago metropol ...

). It was at the Art Institute that Waddell met artist Ruth Holland. In 1949, they were married in a small ceremony with friends and fellow students,

Leon Golub Leon Golub (January 23, 1922 – August 8, 2004) was an American painter. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he also studied, receiving his Bachelor of Arts, BA at the University of Chicago in 1942, and his Bachelor of Fine Arts, BFA and Ma ...

and

Nancy Spero Nancy Spero (August 24, 1926 – October 18, 2009) was an American visual artist. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Spero lived for much of her life in New York City. She married and collaborated with artist Leon Golub. As both artist and activist, Nanc ...

, as witnesses. Through the decades Ruth appeared in many of his paintings and sculptures. Waddell also became a primary muse in Ruth’s work. They remained married until Waddell's death in 2019 and had two additional sons and a daughter: Lindsey and William Waddell and filmmaker Amy Waddell, respectively.

Career

Waddell began having one-man shows of his artwork as early as 1942. He had dozens of such shows over the course of six decades as a professional artist. His career as an art educator began in earnest in 1947 when he started teaching evening adult classes in the Central YMCA Adult Education Program in Chicago, which he did until 1955. Overlapping with this position was the teaching of art and art education at the National College of Education—from 1949 to 1955. He assumed the position of head of art education at the

IIT Institute of Design Institute of Design (ID) at the Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech), founded as the New Bauhaus, is a graduate school teaching systemic, human-centered design. History The Institute of Design at Illinois Tech is a school of design ...

in 1955. While in Chicago, Waddell designed a program for students with

Down's Syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual disa ...

and varied mental and physical challenges at

Bruno Bettelheim Bruno Bettelheim (August 28, 1903 – March 13, 1990) was an Austrian-born psychologist, scholar, public intellectual and writer who spent most of his academic and clinical career in the United States. An early writer on autism, Bettelheim's wo ...

’s

Orthogenic School The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School, also known simply as the Orthogenic School or informally as the O'School, is a residential treatment center a day school, and a therapeutic school for children and adolescents typically classified as emotio ...

. In 1957, Waddell moved his family to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and became head of Art Education at Arizona State College (later known as

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

). He retired from ASU in 1964 to devote all of his energies to his artwork. In 2007, several life-sized bronze sculptures by Waddell were stolen, probably due to the value of the metal after the work has been melted.

Death

Waddell died November 27, 2019, at the age of 98.

Selected public works

File:Dance 1.jpg, alt=Sculpture outside the Herberger Theater, Phoenix., Sculpture outside the Herberger Theater, Phoenix. File:1988 Dancer in motion.jpg, alt=Dancer in Motion, ''Dancer in Motion'' (1988). File:That Which Might Have Been, Birmingham 1963.jpg, alt=That Which Might Have Been, Waddell with his work, ''That Which Might Have Been, Birmingham 1963'', Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix, cast in 1964. *''Dance Mother'' (Ruth), - Phoenix Art Museum,

Phoenix Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

1962 *''Dance Daughters'', - Yuma Art Center,

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

, 1963 *''That Which Might Have Been: Birmingham 1963'', - Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix 1964;George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center
Phoenix *''Family'', - Maricopa County Building, Phoenix, AZ 1967 *''Past and Present''. – Glendale Community College,

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the la ...

1968 *''Dance'', Downtown Phoenix, AZ, 1968 to 1974 *''Marlo Seated'',

Phoenix Public Library The Phoenix Public Library is a municipal library system serving Phoenix, Arizona, and operated by the city of Phoenix. There are 16 branches currently in operation citywide, anchored by the flagship Burton Barr Central Library on the northern edg ...

, Phoenix AZ, 1977 *''Seated Flute Player'', Weinstein Center for the Performing Arts,

, and

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, 1979 *''Apogee & Momentum'', U.S. Tennis Association, Flushing Meadows, New York 1980 - 1988 *''Welcoming Muse'', Robert Mondavi Winery,

Oakville, California Oakville is a census-designated place (CDP) in the of Napa County, northern California. The population was 71 at the 2010 census. Oakville's ZIP Code is 94562, and it is located in area code 707. The local economy is based on Napa Valley wine p ...

*''I Am That I Am'',

Congregation Beth Israel (Scottsdale, Arizona) Congregation Beth Israel ( he, בית ישראל) is a Jewish congregation located at 10460 North 56th Street in Scottsdale, Arizona. Formally incorporated in 1920, it affiliated with the Reform Judaism in 1935. Abraham Lincoln Krohn was rabbi o ...

, 1982 *''Seated Flute Player & Harpist, Ravinia Park, Chicago

Awards

*Performing and Broadcast Arts Hall of Fame, The Herberger Theater (Phoenix), inducted in 2001.

References

External links

Official WebsiteRising by Waddell - Relief
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waddell, John 1921 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters Arizona State University faculty American art educators Illinois Institute of Technology faculty Modern painters Modern sculptors Artists from Des Moines, Iowa People from Evanston, Illinois Artists from Phoenix, Arizona School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni University of Chicago alumni National Louis University faculty 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors Sculptors from Iowa Military personnel from Iowa Sculptors from Arizona