John Frazee (July 18, 1790 – February 24, 1852) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sculptor and architect. The Smithsonian has a collection of many of his sculptures as well as paintings of Frazee by other artists including

Asher B. Durand Asher Brown Durand (August 21, 1796, – September 17, 1886) was an American painter of the Hudson River School. Early life Durand was born in, and eventually died in, Maplewood, New Jersey (then called Jefferson Village). He was the eighth ...

and Henry Colton Shumway.John Frazee
Smithsonian Collections He was born in

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...

, and worked in the Neo-Classic tradition. He is known as being one of the first successful native born American sculptors and "the first American born sculptor to execute a bust in marble". He is best known for his portrait busts, including of

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the f ...

and

Marquis De Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

. He carved sculptures for 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 ...

including of Chief Justice John Marshall and

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...

. He also received a commission to design the

New York Customs House The United States Custom House, sometimes referred to as the New York Custom House, was the place where the United States Customs Service collected federal customs duties on imported goods within New York City. Locations The Custom House ...

, later used as

Federal Hall National Memorial Federal Hall is a historic building at 26 Wall Street in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The current Greek Revival–style building, completed in 1842 as the Custom House, is operated by the National Park Service as a na ...

. The sculptor Thomas Crawford began his career as a marble carver in Frazee's studio in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1826, he helped found 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 f ...

Selected works

* early 1820s, Elbridge Gerry Monument * 1824, John Wells (1770 – 1823) First sculpture portrait by a native born American sculptor * 1827, Self-portrait sculpture * 1831,

sculpture * 1831,

John Henry Hobart John Henry Hobart (September 14, 1775 – September 12, 1830) was the third Episcopal bishop of New York (1816–1830). He vigorously promoted the extension of the Episcopal Church in upstate New York, as well as founded both the General Th ...

(1775 – 1830) plaster sculpture * 1832,

Nathaniel Prime Nathaniel Prime (January 30, 1768 – November 26, 1840) was a New York broker and banker. Early life Prime was born in Rowley, Massachusetts on January 30, 1768. He was the son of Joshua Prime and Bridget Hammond Prime. In his early years, h ...

bust * 1834,

marble sculpture * 1834,

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 ...

(1773 – 1838) marble sculpture * 1834,

Cadwallader D. Colden Cadwallader David Colden (April 4, 1769 – February 7, 1834) was an American politician who served as the 54th Mayor of New York City and a U.S. Representative from New York. Early life Colden was born at Turtle Playground (Queens), Spring Hil ...

, (1769 – 1834) bas relief on tombstone * 1835,

John Lowell John Lowell (June 17, 1743 – May 6, 1802) was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation, a Judge of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture under the Articles of Confederation, a United States district judge of the United States Distr ...

sculpture * 1835,

Thomas Handasyd Perkins Colonel Thomas Handasyd Perkins, also known as T. H. Perkins (December 15, 1764 – January 11, 1854), was an American merchant, slave trader, smuggler and philanthropist from a wealthy Boston Brahmin family. Starting with bequests from his grand ...

(1764 – 1854) marble sculpture * 1835, John Marshall sculpture * 1836,

Joseph Story Joseph Story (September 18, 1779 – September 10, 1845) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in ''Martin v. Hunter's Lessee'' and '' United States ...

sculpture * 1836, Judge William Prescott marble sculpture * 1836,

William Prescott William Prescott (February 20, 1726 – October 13, 1795) was an American colonel in the Revolutionary War who commanded the patriot forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Prescott is known for his order to his soldiers, "Do not fire until ...

sculpture * 1839, Monument to

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

in New Rochelle, New York, (The bronze bust of Paine by sculptor

Wilson MacDonald Wilson Pugsley MacDonald (May 5, 1880 – April 8, 1967) was a popular Canadian poet who "was known mainly in his own time for his considerable platform abilities" as a reader of his poetry. By reading fees, and by selling his books at readings, ...

was added in 1899)Voss, Frederick S., ‘’John Frazee: 1790-1852, Sculptor’’, the Boston athenaeum and the National Portrait Gallery, Washington City and Boston, 1986 p. 104 * 1839,

memorial with bas relief * 1840, William Leggett portrait on tombstone * 1842, George Griswold III (1777 – 1859) bust * 1847, Monument to

Charlotte Canda Charlotte Canda (February 3, 1828 – February 3, 1845), sometimes referred to simply as "Miss Canda", was a young debutante who died in a horse carriage accident on the way home from her seventeenth birthday party in New York City. She is memoria ...

(1828 – 1845) * ca. 1850,

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

sculpture *

Luman Reed Luman Reed (1787–1836) was a successful American merchant and an important patron of the arts. His support for the painters George Whiting Flagg and Thomas Cole were particularly significant contributions to the development of American painting ...

sculpture *

William Wetmore Story William Wetmore Story (February 12, 1819 – October 7, 1895) was an American sculptor, art critic, poet, and editor. Life and career William Wetmore Story was the son of jurist Joseph Story and Sarah Waldo (Wetmore) Story. He graduated from H ...

(1819 – 1895) marble sculpture *early 1830s, Robert R. Randall attributed to Frazee

Selected works

References

Further reading