John Rogers (sculptor)
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John Rogers (1829-1904) was an American sculptor who produced very popular, relatively inexpensive figurines in the latter 19th century.
He became famous for his small genre sculptures, popularly termed "Rogers Groups", which were mass produced in cast plaster. A total of 80,000 copies of almost 80 Rogers Groups were sold across the United States and abroad.[1]
At the height of their popularity, Rogers' figurines graced the parlors of homes in the United States and were found as far away as Chile and Australia. The English novelist Charles Reade furnished his home with all the Rogers figurines available to him, and in the Dakota Territory, Lt. Col. George Custer and his wife had one. Often selling for $15 apiece, the figurines were affordable to the middle class.[1]
Instead of working in bronze and marble, he sculpted in more affordable plaster, painted the color of putty to hide dust.[2] Rogers was inspired by popular novels, poems and prints as well as the scenes he saw around him.[1]
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[edit] Life
Rogers was born in Salem, Massachusetts, to an unsuccessful but well-connected Boston merchant and attended Boston English High School, where the boy studied drawing, English and natural science.[1] He began his career as a machinist and draftsman at the Amoskeag Locomotive Works in Manchester, New Hampshire. In 1856 and 1857 he worked as a mechanic on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad in Missouri. After an artistic training at Rome and Paris (1858-59) he exhibited upon his return to the United States the "Slave Auction" (1860), which first brought him into prominence, and in 1860-65 he executed a series of war statuettes groups in gray clay, among which were the "Picket Guard," "One More Shot," and "Union Refugees."
In 1878 he opened his small studio in New Canaan, Connecticut. The popularity of Rogers' figurines was already declining when poor health forced his retirement in 1893 or 1894 and had passed entirely by the time of his death in 1904.[1]
[edit] Recognition
"His statuettes are almost forgotten now", according to an article published in the New York Evening Journal on October 19, 1904. "They grew out of the war; they died with the war. Yet they did their work well and possibly our present taste in art would not have been acquired had John Rogers' figurines never existed." Though provocative, and perhaps true in 1904, the year of Roger's death, the previous quote is not entirely indicative of the fact that Rogers' works continue to be popular today[3], and actually have tremendous value. In fact, the sculpture Wounded to the Rear, One More Shot, standing 19" tall sold for $4,800 at auction. However, it is important to note that this example of "One More Shot" was in parian, an unglazed porecelain, not the usual plaster that Rogers Groups are normally found. The parian pieces were made in England by at least two companies, J. Cooke and Robinson & Leadbeater. There may have been other makers of these parian Rogers Groups. While not definitive, it is assumed these copies were unauthorized, as there is no record of Rogers having made arrangements for their manufacture. In addition to "One More Shot" at least six other Rogers works are known to have been produced in parian, as well as majolica (a glazed porcelain), including "The Wounded Scout", "Checker Players", "Camp Life, The Card Players", "Taking the Oath and Drawing the Rations" and "Union Refugees." While the parians are always white, the majolica versions have been found in red, green, beige and brown. In addition, Rogers also sculpted "The Fisher Girl" of which 11 copies were cast in England by Copeland in parian as a lottery winning for subscribers/members of the Cosmopolitan Art Association in 1861. [4]
His studio at The New Canaan Historical Society, 13 Oenoke Ridge, New Canaan Connecticut, now known as the John Rogers Studio, was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1965.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Rogers |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e [1] Wallace, David H. "The Art of John Rogers: 'So Real and So True'", article in American Art Journal, Vol. 4, No. 2, Nineteenth-Century American Sculpture (Nov., 1972), pp. 59-70, online first page accessed via JSTOR Web site on January 21, 2007
- ^ [2] Liebenson, Bess, "On the Trail of History in New Canaan", article, The New York Times, October 1, 2000, accessed January 21, 2007
- ^ John Rogers Groups, Flint Institute of Arts exhibition catalog, 1976
- ^ "John Rogers". Fine Art May 2007. Rago Arts and Auction Center. http://www.ragoarts.com/results/?p=search&q=john+rogers.
- This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.
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