Nellie Verne Walker (December 8, 1874 – July 10, 1973), was an American sculptor best known for her statue of James Harlan formerly in the

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old ...

in the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

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, Na ...

Early years

Nellie Verne Walker was born in

Red Oak, Iowa Red Oak is a city in, and the county seat of, Montgomery County, Iowa, United States, located along the East Nishnabotna River. The population was 5,362 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 6,197 population in 2000. History Red Oak derives i ...

, the daughter of Everett Walker, a stone carver and monument maker, and Rebecca Jane Lindsay Walker. By the age of 17 she was allowed to use her father's tools and began making her own sculpture in her father's monument shop in

Moulton, Iowa Moulton is a city in Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 607 at the time of the 2020 census. History Moulton was platted in 1867. In 1873, the Burlington and Southwestern Railway was built into the settlement. Geography A ...

. Her first noteworthy work was a bust 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 ...

that was displayed at the Columbian Exposition in 1893, as an exhibit in the Iowa Building there, labeled "The work of an Iowa Girl". She was to return to the theme of Lincoln again in her career. Unable to afford to go to art school, Walker worked as a legal secretary for six years before she could obtain enough money to attend the Art Institute of Chicago. Stratton memorial by Nellie Walker

At four foot eight (4'8") and less than a hundred pounds she seemed an unlikely candidate to be able to meet and to succeed at the very physical demands placed on a sculptor, but the teacher,

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 ...

decided to give her a chance and they were to remain friends and co-workers for the rest of their lives. Ultimately, because of her diminutive size and her work, she became known as "the lady who lived on ladders." When Taft died in 1936, leaving much of the

Heald Square Monument The ''Heald Square Monument'' is a bronze sculpture group by Lorado Taft in Heald Square, Chicago, Illinois. It depicts General George Washington, and the two principal financiers of the American Revolution, Robert Morris and Haym Salomon. Fol ...

– a sculpture group of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, Robert Morris and

Haym Salomon Haym Salomon (also Solomon; anglicized from Chaim Salomon; April 7, 1740 – January 6, 1785) was a Polish-born Jewish businessman and political financial broker who assisted the Superintendent of Finance, English-born Robert Morris, as the prim ...

– undone, she was one of several sculptors who were commissioned to finish the piece (1941). Not long thereafter she began getting her own commissions and so moved into studio space in the famous (in sculpture circles) Midway Studio where she shared space with Taft and other Chicago sculptors. In 1902, reclusive

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

millionaire W. S. Stratton died and someone there realized that Walker was in town and asked her to make a death mask, which she did. The family was so impressed with Walker that they commissioned her to do a bust, followed by a large carved granite cemetery marker and finally an over-life-sized statue of Stratton. All are still located in the Colorado Springs area.

, in his groundbreaking ''The History of American Sculpture'' mentions Walker as a significant young sculptor and specifically refers to her

Chief Keokuk Keokuk (circa 1780–June 1848) was a leader of the Sauk tribe in central North America, and for decades was one of the most recognized Native American leaders and noted for his accommodation with the U.S. government. Keokuk moved his tribe sev ...

statue. Like many other sculptors of her era Walker created both architectural and cemetery sculpture. She 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 was inducted into the

Iowa Women's Hall of Fame The Iowa Women's Hall of Fame was created to acknowledge the accomplishments of female role models associated with the U.S. state of Iowa, and is an endeavor of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW). History In 1972, the state of Iow ...

in 1987. Late in life, following the 1948 destruction of her Chicago studio, Walker moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado where she occasionally modeled pottery for the

Van Briggle Pottery Van Briggle Art Pottery was at the time of its demise the oldest continuously operating art pottery in the United States, having been established in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1901 by Artus and Anne Van Briggle. Artus had a significant impact ...

company, and she died there in 1973, aged 98.

Monuments

Image:Lanning Fountain Sculpture, Smith College, Northampton, MA (full statue) - February 2018.jpg, Lanning Fountain Image:Lanning Fountain Sculpture, Smith College, Northampton, MA (upper body) - February 2018.jpg, Lanning Fountain (looking up) Image:Lanning Fountain Sculpture, Smith College, Northampton, MA (profile) - February 2018.jpg, Lanning Fountain (profile) *

Winfield Scott Stratton Winfield Scott Stratton (July 22, 1848 – September 14, 1902) was an American prospector, capitalist, and philanthropist. He discovered the Independence Lode near Victor, Colorado on July 4, 1891, and became the Cripple Creek Mining District ...

, (1907), Colorado Springs, Colorado *

Statue of James Harlan ''James Harlan'' is a bronze sculpture of the American attorney and politician of the same name by Nellie Walker, formerly installed in Washington, D.C.'s United States Capitol, as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. The statue, which ...

, (1909), formerly in the

* Lanning Fountain, (1911), Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts *

, (1913),

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

, * Senator

Isaac Stephenson Isaac Stephenson (June 18, 1829March 15, 1918) was an American politician of the Republican Party who represented Wisconsin as both a United States representative and a United States senator. He was born in the community of Yorkton, near Fr ...

, (1921),

Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephenson Island, part of th ...

* Memorial to Soldiers of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, (1929), Springfield, Illinois * Suffrage Memorial Panel, (1934),

Iowa State Capitol The Iowa State Capitol, commonly called the Iowa Statehouse, is in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines. As the seat of the Iowa General Assembly, the building houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the ...

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, ...

* Lincoln Trail State Memorial, (1937), near

Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Illinois, Lawrence County, Illinois, United States, located along the Embarras River (Illinois), Embarras River. The population was 4,348 at the 2010 census. Lawrenceville is locat ...

figure for the

, (1941), Chicago, Illinois

Architectural sculpture

* figures of ''Friendship'' and ''Character'', (1929) Michigan League Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan * Monumental figures of Moses and

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

for the courthouse in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

* Panels,

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

Library, Ames, Iowa * Royal Neighbors Building, (1927) Rock Island, Illinois File:NWMichLeague2.jpg, Michigan League Building

Cemetery works

Image:NWDecker.jpg, Decker Memorial Image:NWalkerStratton1.jpg, Stratton grave site Image:NWalkerMinniapolis.jpg, Helen McMullen Image:NWFredCarrieDiggens.jpg, Diggins Monument Image:NWMitchell.jpg, Mitchell Image:NWCadillacStone3.jpg, Mitchell Image:NWCadillacStone4.jpg, detail Image:NWCadillacStone5.jpg, detail *

, (1905),

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

* Lillian Watson, (1909),

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

* Delos Diggins, (1909),

Cadillac, Michigan Cadillac ( ) is a city in and county seat of Wexford County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,371 at the 2020 census, which ranks it the third most-populated city in the Northern Michigan region after Traverse City and Al ...

* Johannes Decker, (1910), Battle Creek, Michigan * Fred and Carrie Diggins, (1916), Cadillac, Michigan * W.W. Mitchell, (1916), Cadillac, Michigan * Helen McMullen, (1919), Minneapolis, Minnesota * Charles W. Shippey, (1922), Chicago, Illinois * Myron L. Learned, (1928),

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

* Milton T. Barlow, (1930), Omaha, Nebraska * Carl Gray, (1940),

Baltimore, Maryland 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 ...

* Butterfield Monument, (ca. 1920),

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

Sources

* ''Contemporary American Sculpture'', The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, San Francisco, The National Sculpture Society 1929 * Hunt, Inez, ''the Lady who Lived on Ladders'', Filter Press, Palmer Lake, Colorado, 1970 * Kvaran, Einar Einarsson ''Cemetery Sculpture in America'', unpublished manuscript * McConnell, Susan, ''Public Treasures: Outdoor Sculpture in the Pikes Peak Region'', City of Colorado Springs, Parks and Recreation Department, 1995 * Opitz, Glenn B, Editor, ''Mantle Fielding’s Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers'', Apollo Book, Poughkeepsie NY, 1986 * Rubenstein, Charlotte Streifer, ''American Women Sculptors'', G.K. Hall & Co., Boston 1990 * Taft, Lorado, ''The History of American Sculpture'', MacMillan Co., New York, NY 1925

References

External links

WIU

UIUC Library

Iowa State University Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Nellie American women sculptors Artists from Chicago Artists from Colorado Springs, Colorado School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni 1874 births 1973 deaths Sculptors from Iowa People from Red Oak, Iowa People from Moulton, Iowa 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American women artists National Sculpture Society members Sculptors from Illinois Sculptors from Colorado