Rudulph Evans (February 1, 1878 – January 16, 1960) was a sculptor.

Early life

Rudolph Evans was born February 1, 1878 in Washington, D.C. to Frank L. Evans, the descendant of a Quaker family, and Elizabeth J. Grimes, the daughter of Gassaway Sellman Grimes, a physician. He grew up in

Front Royal, Virginia Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,011 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. History The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become F ...

, and studied in France 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 centur ...

; his fellow students included Auguste Rodin and

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 ...

. He also studied at

Corcoran School of Art The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, DC.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts and ...

under Edith Ogden Heidel.

Career

After returning to the United States in 1900, Evans established and maintained a studio in New York City] In 1918, 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 f ...

as an associate member and became a full academician in 1929. He moved back to Washington, D.C. in 1949. Evans designed the statue of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

inside the

Jefferson Memorial The Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial built in Washington, D.C. between 1939 and 1943 in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, a central intellectual force behind the A ...

in Washington, D.C. At the time the memorial was inaugurated, in 1943, due to material shortages during World War II, the statue was of plaster patinated to resemble bronze; the finished bronze was cast by

Roman Bronze Works Roman Bronze Works, now operated as Roman Bronze Studios, is a bronze foundry in New York City. Established in 1897 by Riccardo Bertelli, it was the first American foundry to specialize in the lost-wax casting method, and was the country's pre-emin ...

of New York City in 1947. Evans' other noted works include the statues of

Julius Sterling Morton Julius Sterling Morton (April 22, 1832 – April 27, 1902) was a Nebraska newspaper editor and politician who served as President Grover Cleveland's Secretary of Agriculture. He was a prominent Bourbon Democrat, taking a conservative position on ...

(1937) and of

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

(1937), both 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 ...

of 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 ...

. Evans also sculpted the statue of Robert E. Lee (1932) in the

Virginia State Capitol The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the third capital city of the U.S. state of Virginia. (The first two were Jamestown and Williamsburg.) It houses the oldest elected ...

.Evans's statue of Robert E. Lee
for the Virginia State Capitol. Virginia State Art Collection.

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and ...

. Accessed 23 June 2011.

Notes

References

Yonkers, Tescia Ann. "Behold His Bronze Likeness: Rudulph Evans's Statue of Robert E. Lee." ''Virginia Cavalcade'' 34 (Autumn 1984): 90–95.

External links

Evans's statue of Robert E. Lee
for the Virginia State Capitol American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts 1878 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American sculptors American male sculptors National Academy of Design members Artists from Washington, D.C. Sculptors from Virginia National Sculpture Society members People from Front Royal, Virginia 20th-century American male artists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters {{US-sculptor-stub