John W. Rhoden (March 13, 1918 - January 4, 2001) was an American sculptor from

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 ...

."John Rhoden, 82, Sculptor of Public Art"
at nytimes.com. (Accessed May 8, 2010.) Rhoden moved to New York in 1938, where he began studying with

Richmond Barthé James Richmond Barthé, also known as Richmond Barthé (January 28, 1901 – March 5, 1989) was an African-American sculptor associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Barthé is best known for his portrayal of black subjects. The focus of his arti ...

. Rhoden worked in wood and bronze, and created a number of commissioned works including ''Untitled (Family)'' at Harlem Hospital Center; ''Mitochondria'' at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan; ''Curved Wal'' at the

African American Museum in Philadelphia The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) is notable as the first museum funded and built by a municipality to help preserve, interpret and exhibit the heritage of African Americans. Opened during the 1976 Bicentennial celebrations, th ...

; ''Zodiacal Structure'' at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia; and a sculpture of

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

at Lincoln University.

Life

Rhoden served in World War II, studied at the School of Painting and Sculpture at Columbia University, and was named a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

Fellow in 1951. He won a

Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Prizes have been awarded annually since 1921, with a hiatus ...

Fellowship from the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects, ...

in 1952. In 1956, he was a member of an artists delegation that visited the Soviet Union, Poland and Yugoslavia under a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. After his time traveling with the State Department, the Rhodens returned to New York City in 1960. Shortly thereafter, John Rhoden left for Indonesia on a Rockefeller Foundation Grant to set up a bronze foundry at the Institut Teknologi in Bandung from 1961 through 1963. His works have been displayed in 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

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.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 ...

, and the

Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

. At Columbia University, he studied under

William Zorach William Zorach (February 28, 1889 – November 15, 1966) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer. He won the Logan Medal of the arts. He is notable for being at the forefront of American artists embracing cubism, as well as for ...

Oronzio Maldarelli Oronzio Maldarelli was an American sculptor and painter (1892–1963) born in Naples, Italy. Education He was born on September 9, 1892 and immigrated with his parents, Michael Maldarelli, a goldsmith, and mother, Louisa Rizzo Maldarelli, to the ...

and

Hugo Robus Hugo Robus (1885 – January 14, 1964) was an American sculptor. He co-founded an art colony in New City, New York. His sculptures are in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan ...

."CRAFTING A BIG TRIBUTE, Sculptor John Rhoden recalled as art genius"
at nydailynews.com. (Accessed May 9, 2010.)

References

Notes Further reading * Appelhof, Ruth Ann. ''Sculpture by John Rhoden''. Birmingham Museum of Art, 1984. ISBN B00071Z3B8 * "Frederick Douglass Statue Unveiled At Lincoln Univ." "Jet Magazine", November 20, 1989.

External links

- biography of John Rhoden on BhamWiki.com- Rhoden sculpture at Harlem Hospital Center from the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation "Art Collection" webpage- Rhoden sculpture at Bellevue Hospital Center from the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation "Art Collection" webpage- "John W. Rhoden 1918-2001" on AskART.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhoden, John 2001 deaths 1910s births Columbia University alumni African-American sculptors 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors 20th-century African-American artists