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Francis Edwin Elwell
Francis Edwin Elwell (also cited as Frank Edwin Elwell; June 15, 1858, in Concord, Massachusetts – January 23, 1922, in Darien, Massachusetts) was an American sculptor, teacher, and author.
He lectured on art at Harvard University, and taught modeling at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York. He served as Curator of Sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until he was ousted in 1905, and wrote one of the first, though unpublished, histories of American sculpture.
Elwell established an early reputation as a sculptor of portrait busts, but also became known for major works, funereal and military monuments, and architectural sculptures. His most famous work is probably Dickens and Little Nell (1890).
Elwell was the son and only child of John Wesley Elwell and Clara Farrar, of Concord, Massachusetts. He was orphaned at age 4, and raised by his maternal grandparents, Elisha Jones Farrar and Elizabeth Chase Barnay. His grandfather was a blacksmith, whom Elwell assisted at the forge. The Farrars were friendly with several illustrious neighbors: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and the Alcott family.
He attended Concord public schools, and received his first art instruction privately from Abigail May Alcott, who had also been an early teacher of sculptor Daniel Chester French. Her sister, writer Louisa May Alcott, took an interest in both students.
As a teenager, Elwell assisted French (eight years his senior) in the sculptor's Concord studio, and later shared a studio with him in New York City. Elwell studied at the school of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. With financial backing from French, the Alcotts, and other Boston patrons, Elwell traveled to Paris in 1881. Following a recommendation from the U.S. Minister to France, Levi P. Morton, he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in May 1882. He matriculated after a year, and studied privately in the studio of his École teacher, Alexandre Falguière. Elwell then studied architecture at the Royal Art School in Ghent, Belgium, and was awarded a silver medal by King Leopold in 1884.
Elwell married fellow American art student Molina Mary Hilbreth in Paris. They returned to Massachusetts in 1885, and their twin sons were born there in 1886.
For several years, Elwell lectured on art at Harvard University. He taught modeling at the school of the National Academy of Design, 1886–1887, then at the Art Students League of New York. He found early success in modeling and carving portrait busts and minor works.
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Francis Edwin Elwell
Francis Edwin Elwell (also cited as Frank Edwin Elwell; June 15, 1858, in Concord, Massachusetts – January 23, 1922, in Darien, Massachusetts) was an American sculptor, teacher, and author.
He lectured on art at Harvard University, and taught modeling at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York. He served as Curator of Sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until he was ousted in 1905, and wrote one of the first, though unpublished, histories of American sculpture.
Elwell established an early reputation as a sculptor of portrait busts, but also became known for major works, funereal and military monuments, and architectural sculptures. His most famous work is probably Dickens and Little Nell (1890).
Elwell was the son and only child of John Wesley Elwell and Clara Farrar, of Concord, Massachusetts. He was orphaned at age 4, and raised by his maternal grandparents, Elisha Jones Farrar and Elizabeth Chase Barnay. His grandfather was a blacksmith, whom Elwell assisted at the forge. The Farrars were friendly with several illustrious neighbors: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and the Alcott family.
He attended Concord public schools, and received his first art instruction privately from Abigail May Alcott, who had also been an early teacher of sculptor Daniel Chester French. Her sister, writer Louisa May Alcott, took an interest in both students.
As a teenager, Elwell assisted French (eight years his senior) in the sculptor's Concord studio, and later shared a studio with him in New York City. Elwell studied at the school of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. With financial backing from French, the Alcotts, and other Boston patrons, Elwell traveled to Paris in 1881. Following a recommendation from the U.S. Minister to France, Levi P. Morton, he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in May 1882. He matriculated after a year, and studied privately in the studio of his École teacher, Alexandre Falguière. Elwell then studied architecture at the Royal Art School in Ghent, Belgium, and was awarded a silver medal by King Leopold in 1884.
Elwell married fellow American art student Molina Mary Hilbreth in Paris. They returned to Massachusetts in 1885, and their twin sons were born there in 1886.
For several years, Elwell lectured on art at Harvard University. He taught modeling at the school of the National Academy of Design, 1886–1887, then at the Art Students League of New York. He found early success in modeling and carving portrait busts and minor works.
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