Edward Clark Potter (November 26, 1857 – June 21, 1923) was an American sculptor best known for his equestrian and animal statues. His most famous works are the marble lions, nicknamed ''Patience'' and ''Fortitude'', in front of the

New York Public Library Main Branch The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, commonly known as the Main Branch, 42nd Street Library or the New York Public Library, is the flagship building in the New York Public Library system in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. ...

Early years

Born in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

, he grew up in

Enfield, Massachusetts Enfield was a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The town was lost as a result of the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir. History Incorporated in 1816 from portions of Greenwich and Belchertown. It was named in honor of one of its early s ...

, where he lived with his mother Mary and sister Clara. There he went to local schools. At 17, due to his mother's wish that he become a minister, he entered Williston Seminary in

Easthampton, Massachusetts Easthampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The city is on the southeastern edge of the Pioneer Valley near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst. The population was 16,211 at the 2020 ...

, for four years. He entered Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, in the class of 1882. He only attended for three semesters, but later was granted an honorary Master's degree. He studied drawing at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston with Frederic Crowninshield and Otto Grundmann. There he also did some modelling with the sculptor Truman H. Bartlett.

Career

In 1883 he became an assistant to Daniel Chester French and concentrated on animal studies and working as a manager and salesman in the quarries. From 1887 to 1889 he studied sculpture at the Académie Julian in Paris with Antonin Mercié and

Emmanuel Frémiet Emmanuel Frémiet (6 December 182410 September 1910) was a French sculptor. He is famous for his 1874 sculpture of Joan of Arc in Paris (and its "sister" statues in Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon) and the monument to Ferdinand de Lesseps in S ...

, becoming an accomplished ''

animalier An animalier (, ) is an artist, mainly from the 19th century, who specializes in, or is known for, skill in the realistic portrayal of animals. "Animal painter" is the more general term for earlier artists. Although the work may be in any genre ...

'' (animal sculptor). During his years there, he exhibited several pieces at the Salon: small groups of rabbits, a bust of a black man, a sketch from an American Indian group, and a sleeping faun with a rabbit. For the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

in Chicago he collaborated with his teacher and friend Daniel Chester French on several of the important sculptures of the exposition. Unfortunately these statues, like most of the architecture of the fair, were made of ''staff'', a temporary material of

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

, cement, and jute fibers, first used in buildings of the Paris exhibition in 1878. He was elected to 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 ...

in 1893, and joined the

Society of American Artists The Society of American Artists was an American artists group. It was formed in 1877 by artists who felt the National Academy of Design did not adequately meet their needs, and was too conservative. The group began meeting in 1874 at the home of ...

in 1894. This later merged with the

National Academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with State (polity), state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but ...

to which he was elected in 1906. Potter won a gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904. His most famous work is the pair of pink

Tennessee marble Tennessee marble is a type of crystalline limestone found only in East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Long esteemed by architects and builders for its pinkish-gray color and the ease with which it is polished, this stone has been ...

lions in front of the

, carved by the Piccirilli brothers. Potter was recommended for this commission by

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he trav ...

. The lions were originally nicknamed "Leo Astor" and "Leo Lenox", for the two private libraries that formed the collection's core, but mayor

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...

renamed them for qualities New Yorkers were showing in weathering the Great Depression—''Patience'' (on the left or south) and ''Fortitude'' (on the right or north)—and those names have stuck. A resident of

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...

, after 1902, he sculpted the memorial to

Raynal Bolling Raynal Cawthorne BollingThe given name "Raynal" is pronounced as in "canal." (September 1, 1877 – March 26, 1918) was the first high-ranking officer of the United States Army to be killed in combat in World War I. A corporate lawyer by vocation ...

there in 1922. The

Cos Cob Cos Cob is a neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. It is located on the Connecticut shoreline in southern Fairfield County. It had a population of 6,770 at the 2010 census. Cos Cob is located on the west ...

section of Greenwich is considered one of the birthplaces of

American Impressionism American Impressionism was a style of painting related to European Impressionism and practiced by American artists in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth. The style is characterized by loose ...

. Potter was a founder and first president of the Greenwich Society of Artists, founded in 1912. He died at his summer home in

Collaborations with Daniel Chester French

World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893

(These were temporary sculptures, all were destroyed.) * Grand Court * ''The Republic'' (replicated as Statue of ''The Republic'') * ''Statue of Industry'' * ''Statue of Plenty'' * ''Statue of The Teamster'' * ''Quadriga'' (horse-drawn chariot) * Quadriga outriders

Equestrian statues

* Equestrian statue of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1893–98).http://www.philart.net/images/large/grant.jpg * Equestrian statue of George Washington, Place d'Iéna, Paris, France (1900). * Equestrian statue of George Washington, Washington Park, Chicago, Illinois (1900–04). This is a replica of the statue in Paris. *

Equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...

of Major General Joseph Hooker,

Massachusetts Statehouse The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the state capitol and seat of government for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. The buildin ...

, Boston, Massachusetts (1903). * ''Progress of the State'' quadriga,

Minnesota State Capitol The Minnesota State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Minnesota, in its capital city of Saint Paul. It houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the office of the Attorney General and the office ...

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas and ...

, architect, St. Paul, Minnesota (1905–1907). * Equestrian statue of Charles Devens, Worcester, Massachusetts (1906). * Equestrian statue of a bugler, "Soldier's Monument" Brookline, MA, (1915)

Gallery

File:Worlds Columbian Exposition Statue of the Republic, Chicago, United States, 1893. (2785068208).jpg,

, Chicago (1893). Potter's Quadriga (horse-drawn chariot) is atop the pavilion behind '' The Republic''. File:EB1911 Plate VI. v24, pg.507, Fig 2.jpg, ''Indian Corn''
(Woman by Daniel Chester French) File:George Washington P1190516.jpg, Equestrian Statue of George Washington, Place d'Iéna, Paris, France (1900). File:1903 Hooker statue StateHouse Boston.png, Dedication of the '' General Joseph Hooker'' statue,

, Boston, MA (1903). File:Progress of the State.jpg, ''Progress of the State'' Quadriga, Minnesota State Capitol, St. Paul, Minnesota (1905–1907).

Selected works

* ''Sleeping Faun'',

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 ...

, New York City (1887–89

* Bust of William A. Wheeler, Vice President William A. Wheeler,

U.S. 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 at ...

, Washington, DC (1890–1892

* Austin Blair, Governor Austin Blair, Michigan State Capitol, Lansing, Michigan (1895–1898). *

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboa ...

, Rotunda Reading Room,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

, Washington, DC (1897). One of 16 bronze statues set around the third-floor balustrade. *

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

, Dewey Triumphal Arch, Madison Square, New York City (1899, destroyed). * Equestrian Statue of Major General Henry W. Slocum,

Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot ...

, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (1902

* Equestrian Statue of Charles Devens, Major General Charles Devens, Worcester County Courthouse, Worcester, Massachusetts (1905–06

* ''Indian Religion'' (Buddha), Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York (1907–1909

* ''Indian Philosophy'' (Sankara), Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York (1907–1909

* ''Sighting the Enemy'' (

George Armstrong Custer Equestrian Monument The George Armstrong Custer Equestrian Monument, also known as ''Sighting the Enemy'', is an equestrian statue of General George Armstrong Custer located in Monroe, Michigan. The statue, sculpted by Edward Clark Potter, was designated as a Mich ...

), Monroe, Michigan (1908–1910). * Equestrian Statue of Major General George B. McClellan, Smith Memorial Arch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1909–1911

* Lions,

, New York City (1910–11). * Equestrian Statue of Philip Kearny, Major General Philip Kearny,

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

, Arlington, Virginia (1912–1914). * Bust of

Sidney Lanier Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...

on the

Sidney Lanier Monument The Sidney Lanier Monument is a public monument in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Located in Piedmont Park, the monument consists of a bust of Sidney Lanier, a notable poet from Georgia. The monument was dedicated in 1914. History Sidney ...

, Piedmont Park, Atlanta, Georgia (1914). * ''The Bugler'' (Brookline Civil War Monument), Brookline, Massachusetts (1915

* Equestrian Statue of John A. McClernand, Major General John A. McClernand, Vicksburg, Mississippi (1919

* Raynal Bolling, Raynal Bolling Memorial, Greenwich, Connecticut (1922). File:Austin Blair statue 1.jpg, Governor Austin Blair, Michigan State Capitol, Lansing, Michigan (1895–1898). File:Equestrian statue of General H. W. Slocum to be unveiled at Gettysburg this week LOC 4230624729.jpg, General H. W. Slocum, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (1920) File:CusterStatue1910.png,

, Monroe, Michigan (1908–1910). File:Kearny Tomb.JPG, Major General Philip Kearny,

, Arlington, Virginia (1912–1914). File:Bolling2233.jpg, Raynal Bolling, Raynal Bolling Memorial, Greenwich, Connecticut (1922).

References

External links

Stone Spirit

National Sculpture Society

School of the Museum of Fine Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Edward Clark 1857 births 1923 deaths People from New London, Connecticut Académie Julian alumni Williston Northampton School alumni Artists from Greenwich, Connecticut Amherst College alumni 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists 19th-century American sculptors American male sculptors People from Enfield, Massachusetts Sculptors from Connecticut 19th-century American male artists