![Commerce & Communications](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Commerce_%26_Communications.jpg)
Wheeler Williams (November 30, 1897 – August 12, 1972) was an American
sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
, born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
.
Life and career
Williams studied sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He attended Yale, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1919. He received a Master of Architecture degree from
Harvard
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 higher le ...
in 1922. Williams studied at the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...
in Paris.
He was one of a dozen sculptors invited to compete in the
Pioneer Woman
The ''Pioneer Woman'' monument is a bronze sculpture in Ponca City, Oklahoma, designed by Bryant Baker and dedicated on April 22, 1930. The statue is of a sunbonneted woman leading a child by the hand. It was donated to the State of Oklahoma by ...
statue competition in 1927, which he failed to win. His model for that competition was later enlarged, cast and placed in front of the public library in
Liberty, Kansas
Liberty is a city in Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 99.
History
Liberty was laid out in 1869 about six miles southeast of Independence, Kansas. It is named for the popular Ame ...
.
Williams was a recipient of a
Gould Medal at the Paris Exposition in 1937. He was a member of the National Academy, past president of the
Fine Arts Federation of New York
Fine may refer to:
Characters
* Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny''
* Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano
Legal terms
* Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an off ...
, and longtime president 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 ...
. Wheeler was also the founder and president of the
American Artist Professional League The American Artists Professional League (AAPL) is an American organization that promotes artists and their works. It was formed in 1928 in New York City by Frederick Ballard Williams
Frederick Ballard Williams (1871- 1956) was an American landsc ...
.
Political involvement
Williams was a supporter of the
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
's search for communist "reds" in the arts. He also protested the Congressional censure of
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...
.
Williams also served on the jury for the
Alger Hiss
Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in con ...
treason trial.
Very active in Republican circles, many of Williams' commissions reflect his conservative positions (for example the
Robert A. Taft Memorial in Washington, DC).
Public monuments
* 1930 "Tablets to Pioneers", Michigan Avenue Bridge,
Chicago, IL
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
* 1935 "Communications" West Pediment of the
Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
Building (formerly Interstate Commerce Commission),
Federal Triangle
The Federal Triangle is a triangular area in Washington, D.C. formed by 15th Street NW, Constitution Avenue NW, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and E Street NW. Federal Triangle is occupied by 10 large city and federal office buildings, all of which are ...
,
Washington, DC
)
, 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 ...
* 1938 "Indian Bowman,"
United States Post Office-Canal Street Station
The United States Post Office Canal Street Station, originally known as "Station B", is a historic post office building located at 350 Canal Street at the corner of Church Street in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was bu ...
,
New York, NY
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
* 1942 "Settlers of the Seaboard",
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, with ...
,
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
* 1949 "The Venus of Manhattan", Madison Avenue Facade, Parke Bernet Gallery, New York, NY
* 1951 four servicemen sculpture on the Wall of the Missing,
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War II American military war grave cemetery, located between the villages of Coton and Madingley, north-west of Cambridge, England. The cemetery, dedicated in 1956, contains 3,811 American ...
,
Cambridge, England
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...
* 1952 "Fountain of the Water Babies", Children's Hospital,
Seattle, WA
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...
* 1952 "Wave of Life", Houston Main Building (HMB) of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; was the Prudential S.W. regional office until 1974.
Houston, TX
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
* 1955 "Robert A. Taft" plaque, Indian Hill Church Cemetery,
Indian Hill, OH
The Village of Indian Hill is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and an affluent suburb of the Greater Cincinnati area. The population was 5,785 at the 2010 census. Prior to 1970, Indian Hill was incorporated as a village, but under ...
* 1956 "Colonel Robert R. McCormick" bronze sculpture, Colonel's Place,
Baie-Comeau
Baie-Comeau (; 2021 city population 20,687; CA population 26,643) is a city located approximately north-east of Quebec City in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River nea ...
, QC,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
* 1956
Commodore John Barry Memorial,
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
* 1959 "Robert A. Taft Memorial," Capitol Grounds,
Washington, DC
)
, 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 ...
* 1960 "Muse of the Missouri" Fountain,
Kansas City, MO
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
* 1961 "Spring, Summer, Fall,"
Memphis, TN
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-most ...
References
*"Questioning 'Modern'", August 23, 1942, New York Times
*"Petition Drive Set To Back McCarthy", November 15, 1954, New York Times
*"Hiss Offers Not Guilty Plea", December 17, 1948, New York Times
*Goode, James M. ''The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington D.C.'', Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. 1974
*Gurney, George,'' Sculpture and the Federal Triangle'', Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. 1985
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Wheeler
1897 births
1972 deaths
American architectural sculptors
American male sculptors
Artists from Chicago
School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts
Yale University alumni
Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni
20th-century American sculptors
National Sculpture Society members
Sculptors from Illinois
20th-century American male artists
Section of Painting and Sculpture artists