Harriet Whitney Frishmuth

Harriet Whitney Frishmuth
Born (1880-09-17)September 17, 1880 Philadelphia,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died January 1980
Waterbury, Connecticut
Resting place Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia
Nationality American
Education École des Beaux-Arts, Art Students League of New York
Known for Sculpture

Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (September 17, 1880 – January 1980) was an American sculptor known for her works in bronze.[1]

Life

She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents divorced when she was in her teens, and she moved to Europe with her mother and sisters, living there for eight years. She studied briefly with Auguste Rodin at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and for two years with Cuno von Uechtritz-Steinkirch in Berlin. She then returned to the United States, and studied at the Art Students League of New York under Gutzon Borglum and Hermon Atkins MacNeil. While in New York, she worked as an assistant to the sculptor Karl Bitter, and performed dissections at the College of Physicians and Surgeons.[2]

Sniffen Court, New York City

Her first commissioned piece was a bas-relief for the New York County Medical Society in 1910. She also modeled ashtrays, bookends, and small figures for the Gorham Manufacturing Company. Her career grew steadily, and she became well known for her beautiful renderings of females in bronze, particularly dancers (Desha Delteil frequently modeled for her). Her small bronzes were sought by private collectors and museums alike, and her large bronzes often were placed in elaborate garden settings or as the centerpieces of fountains.[3] She also taught; among her pupils were Maude Sherwood Jewett[4] and Eleanor Mary Mellon.[5]

Her work was exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, the Salon in Paris, the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939–1940) and the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. She also exhibited with the Philadelphia Ten, the renowned group of women artists. She had a studio at Sniffen Court in New York City.[6] One of her last exhibitions was in 1929, though she remained active in the art world for decades afterwards. The Great Depression affected her livelihood; she closed her New York studio in the 1930s, and returned to Philadelphia. She died in 1980 in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Speed, 1922

Frishmuth scorned modern art and was quite outspoken on the subject, calling it "spiritless" (she was equally outspoken in her dislike of the word "sculptress"). She received a number of recognitions and honors over the course of her career: the St. Gaudens Medal from the Art Students League of New York (while still a student), several awards from the National Academy of Design, a prize from the Grand Central Art Galleries, an honorable mention from the Golden Gate International Exposition, and the Joan of Arc Silver Medal from the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. She was elected into the National Academy of Design in 1925 as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1929.

Her papers and a great number of drawings are held at Syracuse University.[7] She is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.[8]

Selected works

References

  1. ↑ "HARRIET WHITNEY FRISHMUTH Biography". Artist Art Brokerage. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Aristos.org - Recommended Links". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  3. ↑ "Small Bronzes by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (1880 - 1980)". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  4. ↑ Charlotte Streifer Rubinstein (1990). American women sculptors: a history of women working in three dimensions. G.K. Hall. ISBN 978-0-8161-8732-4.
  5. ↑ Jules Heller; Nancy G. Heller (19 December 2013). North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-63882-5.
  6. ↑ "Harriet Frismuth" on the Fine Old Art website
  7. ↑ "Harriet Whitney Frishmuth Papers An inventory of her papers at Syracuse University". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "Harriet Whitney Frishmuth". Find A Grave.
  9. ↑ "Joy of the Waters, (sculpture)". SIRIS. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  10. ↑ Gerdts, Abigail Booth (1989). An American Collection: Paintings and Sculpture from the National Academy of Design. The Academy.
  11. ↑ "The Vine, (sculpture)". Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum,. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Call of the Sea, (sculpture)". SIRIS. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Farmington Community Library Works of Art". Archived from the original on 2012-05-19.
  14. ↑ Aspiration from SIRIS.
  15. ↑ "Roses of Yesterday, (sculpture)". SIRIS. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  16. ↑ "The Crest of the Wave, (sculpture)". Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Harriet Whitney Frishmuth's Sculpture Scherzo Helps Beautify Bracken Library and Expose Thousands of Students Daily to Fine Art". Ball State University. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  18. ↑ "(Scherzo), (sculpture)". Save Outdoor Sculpture, Indiana survey. 1992. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Aspiration, (sculpture)". SIRIS. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  20. ↑ Peter Pan from SIRIS.


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