Julia Bracken Wendt, (1870–1942) a notable American sculptor, was born on June 10, 1871 in

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, the twelfth of thirteen children in an Irish Catholic family.Rubenstein, Charlotte Streifer, ‘’American Women Sculptors: A History of Women Working in Three Dimensions’’, G. K. Hall and Co. Boston, 1990 pp. 105*110 Unsupported at home following the death of her mother when she was nine years old, she ran away from home at thirteen. By sixteen she was working as a domestic servant for a woman who recognized her talent and drive, and paid to enroll her in the Art Institute of Chicago. There she studied with

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 deca ...

and by 1887 she had advanced to become his studio and teaching assistant. In 1893, during the Columbian Exposition she was one of several women sculptors nicknamed the White Rabbits who helped produce some of the

architectural sculpture Architectural sculpture is the use of sculptural techniques by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge, mausoleum or other such project. The sculpture is usually integrated with the structure, but freestanding works that ...

that graced the exposition buildings. Aside from that she was awarded a commission to produce ''Illinois Welcoming the Nations'' for the Fair. The work was later cast in bronze and unveiled at the

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, at which time Governor Altgeld was the main speaker. After successfully pursuing her career for a number of years, in 1906 she married painter

William Wendt William Wendt (February 20, 1865, Bentzen, Kingdom of Prussia – December 29, 1946, Laguna Beach) was a German-born American landscape painter. He was called the "Dean of Southern California landscape painters." *Bronze Medal, Buffalo Expositi ...

and moved to

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where she continued her success. In California she taught at the

Otis Art Institute Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aerospace headquarte ...

National Sculpture Society, ‘’Contemporary American Sculpture’’, National Sculpture Society, NY 1929 and, with her husband, was instrumental in the founding of the

California Art Club The California Art Club (CAC) is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. Founded in December 1909, it celebrated its centennial in 2009 and into the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved out of The ...

in 1909, which was developed on the premise of allowing women and sculptors into the membership. Wendt was a member of 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 ...

and exhibited and was featured in both the 1923 and 1929 Exhibitions and the resulting catalogues.National Sculpture Society, ‘’Exhibition of American Sculpture Catalogue’’, National Sculpture Society, NY 1923 She died in Laguna Beach on June 22, 1942.

Work

Her work can be found in: *

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* Civil War Monument,

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Laguna Art Museum The Laguna Art Museum (LAM) is a museum located in Laguna Beach, California, on Pacific Coast Highway. LAM exclusively features California art and is the oldest cultural institution in the area. It has been known as the Laguna Beach Art Associati ...

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 ...

Portrait Collection * old Los Angeles City Hall (now located in the

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. Its collections include nearly 35 million specimens and artifacts and cover 4.5 billion years of history. This large col ...

) * Lincoln Park, Los Angeles, California * as well as in numerous private collections

References

External links

*
Image of sculptor Julia Bracken Wendt and Mayor Frank Shaw next to a newly dedicated fountain that includes her work, Los Angeles, California, 1933.

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library,

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wendt, Julia American women sculptors 1870 births 1942 deaths Otis College of Art and Design faculty 19th-century American sculptors 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American women artists 19th-century American women artists People from Jo Daviess County, Illinois American women academics