William Rush
William Rush (July 4, 1756 – January 17, 1833) was a U.S. neoclassical sculptor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is considered the first major American sculptor.
He was trained in the carving of ships' figureheads in wood. This translated into sculptures that were deeply undercut and visible from far away through the dramatic use of contrast and strong shadows. Rush blended American artisanal tradition and neoclassical form.
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Rush carved figureheads for four of the original six frigates of the United States Navy: USS United States (Genius of the United States, 1796, whereabouts unknown), USS Constellation (Nature, 1797, whereabouts unknown), USS Chesapeake (Revolution, 1799, whereabouts unknown), and USS Congress (Goddess of Wisdom, 1799, whereabouts unknown). He designed the figurehead for a fifth original frigate, USS Constitution (Hercules, 1796, carved by John Skillin, whereabouts unknown, replaced by a figurehead of Andrew Jackson 1848), and may have designed that for the sixth, USS President (George Washington, 1800, carved by Rush's former apprentice Daniel N. Train, whereabouts unknown).[2]
He also carved figureheads for the U.S. Navy frigates USS John Adams (John Adams, 1799, whereabouts unknown), USS Philadelphia (Hercules, 1799, burned 1804), and USS Potomac (Captain John Smith, 1822, whereabouts unknown); along with the gun-ships USS Franklin (Benjamin Franklin, 1815, U.S. Naval Academy Museum), USS Columbus (Christopher Columbus, 1819, whereabouts unknown), USS North Carolina (Sir Walter Raleigh, 1820, whereabouts unknown), and USS Pennsylvania (Hercules, 1824–37, attributed to Rush or his son John, whereabouts unknown).[3]
[edit] Public sculpture
Rush was one of the first to create outdoor public sculpture in the United States. His twin figures, Comedy and Tragedy (1808), were originally installed in niches on the facade of Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Theater.[4] His Water Nymph and Bittern (1809), was created as a fountain sculpture for the Center Square Waterworks, designed by Benjamin Latrobe, which stood at what is now the site of Philadelphia City Hall.[5]
The Schuylkill Permanent Bridge (Market Street Bridge) in Philadelphia was adorned with his sculptures of Agriculture and Commerce (1812, whereabouts unknown), William Strickland's Philadelphia Custom House featured another figure named Commerce (1819, whereabouts unknown), and his sculptures of Wisdom and Justice (by 1824, Fairmount Park Commission) decorated a triumphal arch erected in front of Independence Hall for the 1824 visit of the Marquis de Lafayette. Rush carved a portrait bust of Lafayette (1824, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts) during the Frenchman's 8-day stay in Philadelphia.[8]
His masterpiece may have been a life-sized statue of the Crucifixion, carved for St. Augustine's Church in 1810. It was destroyed in 1844, when the church was burned during Philadelphia's anti-Catholic riots.[9]
Rush carved allegorical figures of The Schuylkill Chained (1825) and The Waterworks (1825) for the Fairmount Waterworks. These were installed atop pavilions along the Schuylkill River. Water Nymph and Bittern was moved to the Fairmount Waterworks at about the same time. A bronze casting of the wooden statue was made in 1872.
[edit] Legacy
Along with friend Charles Willson Peale, Rush helped found the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, showing his interest in art beyond the American craft tradition. At age 66, he carved a self-portrait bust (1822), that is today housed in that museum.[10] Wisdom and Justice are on loan to the Academy, whose holdings include a collection of Rush's portrait busts, a life-sized eagle statue attributed to him, and the head of the nymph from Water Nymph and Bittern.[11]
Rush's life-sized statue of George Washington (1815), long exhibited at Independence Hall, is now at the Second Bank of the United States.[12] Seven life-sized allegorical figures by him (1820–22) are exhibited at the Philadelphia Masonic Temple.[13][14][15] Collections of his portrait busts can be found at the Library Company of Philadelphia[16] and the American Philosophical Society, and a ship figurehead of Peace, at the Independence Seaport Museum.[17] A ship figurehead of Benjamin Franklin is at Yale University Art Gallery.[18] An 1817 portrait bust of George Washington is in the collection of the American Revolution Center.[19]
The largest collection of Rush's work can be found at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, including Comedy,[20] Tragedy,[21] The Schuylkill Chained, The Waterworks, portrait busts, and the 1872 bronze casting of Water Nymph and Bittern[22] (on loan from the Fairmount Park Commission).[23] The museum's holdings include many of Thomas Eakins's sketches and studies related to his paintings of Rush, along with the most famous painting: William Rush Carving his Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River (aka William Rush and His Model), 1876–77, oil on canvas (mounted on Masonite), 20 1/8 x 26 1/8 inches (51.1 x 66.4 cm).
Eakins felt a strong personal connection to the sculptor, and returned to him as a subject late in life. In one of Eakins's final paintings, created almost exactly a century after Rush's carving of Water Nymph and Bittern, the painter seems to have portrayed himself as Rush.
[edit] Gallery
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Allegorical Figure of The Schuylkill River (aka Water Nymph and Bittern) (1809). Shown: 1872 bronze casting of Rush's pine original.
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George Washington (1815). Pine, painted white. On display at Independence Hall in the 1870s. Now at Second Bank of the United States.
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Bust of General Winfield Scott (c. 1814-17). Plaster. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC.
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Bust of General Andrew Jackson (1819). Terracotta. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
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The headstone of William Rush located in West Philadelphia's Woodlands Cemetery.
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William Rush Carving his Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River (aka William Rush and His Model) by Thomas Eakins (1876-77), oil on canvas, 20 1/8 x 26 1/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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Eakins's key to the 1876-77 painting. Hirshhorn Museum.
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[edit] References
- Craven, Wayne. American Art. London: McGraw Hill. 2003.
- Biography at encyclopedia.com
- ^ The Waterworks as originally installed at the Fairmount Water Works.
- ^ Ralph Sessions, "William Rush and the American Figurehead", The Magazine Antiques, 168:5 (Nov. 2005), p. 150-51.
- ^ William Rush, American Sculptor, exhibition catalogue, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1982, pp. 100-70.
- ^ Comedy and Tragedy as installed on the facade of the rebuilt Chestnut Street Theater (1822).
- ^ Water Nymph and Bittern in an 1811-12 painting by John Lewis Krimmel.
- ^ The Schuylkill Chained as originally installed at the Fairmount Water Works.
- ^ Detail of The Schuylkill Chained from Flickr.
- ^ William Rush, American Sculptor, pp. 130, 139-44, 155-56.
- ^ William Rush, American Sculptor, pp. 120-21.
- ^ Self-portrait bust at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
- ^ Susan James-Gadzinski and Mary Mullen Cunningham, American Sculpture in the Museum of American Art of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (University of Washington Press, 1997), pp. 11-18.
- ^ Washington statue at Second Bank of the United States.
- ^ Faith at Philadelphia Masonic Temple
- ^ Hope at Philadelphia Masonic Temple
- ^ Charity at Philadelphia Masonic Temple
- ^ Rush portrait busts at Library Company of Philadelphia
- ^ Peace at Independence Seaport Museum
- ^ Benjamin Franklin figurehead at Yale University Art Gallery
- ^ Washington bust at American Revolution Center
- ^ Comedy at Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- ^ Tragedy at Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- ^ Water Nymph and Bittern at Philadelphia Museum of Art
- ^ William Rush, American Sculptor, pp. 114-17.
[edit] External links
- William Rush at Find a Grave
- Union List of Artist Names, Getty Vocabularies. ULAN Full Record Display for William Rush. Getty Vocabulary Program, Getty Research Institute. Los Angeles, California.
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