John Frazee (July 18, 1790 – February 24, 1852) was an American 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 and Henry Colton Shumway.John Frazee
Smithsonian Collections He was born in

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

, 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 (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

and

Marquis De Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

. He carved sculptures for the

Boston Athenaeum Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

including of Chief Justice

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

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 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

. He also received a commission to design the New York Customs House, later used as

Federal Hall National Memorial Federal Hall was the first capitol building of the United States under the Constitution. Serving as the meeting place of the First United States Congress and the site of George Washington's first presidential inauguration, the building existe ...

. 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

Selected works

* early 1820s,

Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry ( ; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death i ...

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 T ...

(1775 – 1830) plaster sculpture * 1832, Nathaniel Prime 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, (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 Distric ...

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,

sculpture * 1836,

Joseph Story Joseph Story (September18, 1779September10, 1845) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in ''Martin ...

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

William Prescott William Prescott (February 20, 1726 – October 13, 1795) was an American officer in the Revolutionary War best known for his service at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Life Prescott was born in Groton, Massachusetts to Benjamin Prescott (169 ...

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 ...

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

, (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 (1828 – 1845) * ca. 1850,

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

sculpture * Luman Reed 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 U.S. Supreme Court judge Joseph Story and Sarah Waldo (Wetmore) Story. ...

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

Selected works

References

Further reading