Robert Ball Hughes (19 January 1804 – 5 March 1868), often known as Ball Hughes, was a British-American sculptor, born in England and active in the United States.

Biography

Ball Hughes was born in London. His birth year has been confirmed to be 1804 according to his baptismal record on the International Genealogical Index, and not 1806 as has been widely reported. His

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

was Robert Balls Hughes according to his baptismal record. He early exhibited a decided taste for modelling, and at 12 years of age made out of wax candle ends a bas-relief copy of a picture representing the wisdom of Solomon, which was afterward cast in silver. He later studied under

Edward Hodges Baily Edward Hodges Baily (10 March 1788 – 22 May 1867; sometimes misspelled ''Bailey'') was a prolific English sculptor responsible for numerous public monuments, portrait busts, statues and exhibition pieces as well as works in silver. He carved ...

for seven years. During this time, the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

awarded him a large silver medal for the best copy in bas-relief of the

Apollo Belvedere The ''Apollo Belvedere'' (also called the ''Belvedere Apollo, Apollo of the Belvedere'', or ''Pythian Apollo'') is a celebrated marble sculpture from Classical Antiquity. The ''Apollo'' is now thought to be an original Roman creation of Hadrianic ...

. He also received a silver medal from the Society of Arts and Sciences for a copy of the

Barberini Faun The life-size ancient but much restored marble statue known as the ''Barberini Faun'', ''Fauno Barberini'' or ''Drunken Satyr'' is now in the Glyptothek in Munich, Germany. A faun is the Roman equivalent of a Greek satyr. In Greek mythology, saty ...

, a large silver medal for the best original model from life, and a gold medal for an original composition, "Pandora brought by Mercury to Epimetheus." In 1830 he was elected into 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 ...

as an Honorary Academician. Hughes was commissioned to sculpt busts of various members of Britains nobility and Royal family, including the

Duke of Sussex Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several royal dukedoms, that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It takes its name fr ...

, the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedo ...

and most notably King

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

. Robert Ball Hughes emigrated to New York City in 1829. His first major commission in America, was a high-relief marble memorial to Bishop

John H. Hobart John Henry Hobart (September 14, 1775 – September 12, 1830) was the third Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal bishop of New York (1816–1830). He vigorously promoted the extension of the Episcopal Church in upstate ...

for

Trinity Church, New York Trinity Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its history, location, architecture and e ...

, followed by a statue of New York Governor

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...

, and subsequently a statue of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

(placed atop of the Merchants' Exchange Building New York, but destroyed by fire in 1835). The original plaster study for that work is held by the Museum of the City of New York. After a short stay in New York, and then Philadelphia, he settled in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where he produced busts of

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

(1836) and

Edward Livingston Edward Livingston (May 28, 1764May 23, 1836) was an American jurist and statesman. He was an influential figure in the drafting of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825, a civil code based largely on the Napoleonic Code. Livingston represented both ...

, and a large bronze of mathematician

Nathaniel Bowditch Nathaniel Bowditch (March 26, 1773 – March 16, 1838) was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book '' The New American Practical Navi ...

for

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

(1847). Ball Hughes' statue of Nathaniel Bowditch was the first large bronze to be cast in America. He made ''Little Nell'' and the group ''Uncle Toby and Widow Wadman'', whose plaster models went to the

Boston Athenaeum Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

, but were never carved in marble. Among his later works were a model of an equestrian statue of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, intended for the city of Philadelphia, a ''Crucifixion'', and a ''

Mary Magdalen Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

''. Ball Hughes also designed numerous wax medallions, as well as coins for the United States mint, including modifications of

Christian Gobrecht Christian Gobrecht (December 23, 1785 – July 23, 1844) was the third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1840 until his death in 1844. He was responsible for designing the famous " Seated Liberty" designs, which were in turn the di ...

's design for the

Seated Liberty quarter The Seated Liberty portrait designs appeared on most regular-issue silver United States coinage from 1836 through 1891. The denominations which featured the Goddess of Liberty in a Seated Liberty design included the half dime, the dime, the quarte ...

(1838), and the

half dime The half dime, or half disme, was a silver coin, valued at five cents, formerly minted in the United States. Some numismatists consider the denomination to be the first business strike coin minted by the United States Mint under the Coinage Act ...

(1859). In his final years, he began to produce burnt wood pictures (pyroengravings or "poker pictures"), including ''The Witches of MacBeth'' (c. 1840), ''Babylonian Lions'' (1856), ''Don Quixote in His Study'' (1863), ''The Trumpeter'' (1864), ''General Grant Proclaiming the Surrender of Richmond'' (1865), ''The Last Lucifer Match'' (1865), and ''The Monk'' (1866). He also lectured on art. Hughes is buried in the Cedar Grove Cemetery,

Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester (colloquially referred to as Dot) is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester ...

. The National Portrait Gallery contains Ball Hughes' busts of

James Kent James Kent may refer to: *James Kent (jurist) (1763–1847), American jurist and legal scholar * James Kent (composer) (1700–1776), English composer *James Kent, better known as Perturbator, French electronic/synthwave musician *James Tyler Kent ...

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

, and his medallion of

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Rev ...

References

Robert Ball Hughes biography

Robert Ball Hughes
at the Dorchester Atheneum * "The Statue of Gen. Hamilton", ''The Family Magazine, Or Monthly Abstract of General Knowledge'', Vol 3, edited by Origen, New York: Redfield & Lindsay, pp. 41 & 42, 1835-6. * Gerry, Samuel L. "The Old Masters of Boston", ''The New England Magazine'', vol. 9, issue 6, Feb. 1891. * Orcutt, William Dana. ''Good Old Dorchester: A Narrative History of the Town, 1630-1893'', Cambridge: The University Press, 1908. * Edward Daland Lovejoy, "The Poker Drawings of Ball-Hughes", ''Antiques Magazine'', September 1946.

National Portrait Gallery collection of Ball Hughes' work
*

Biography

References

Further reading