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Helen Farnsworth Mears (; December 21, 1872 – February 17, 1916) was an American sculptor. ==Biography== Mears was born December 21, 1872, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, daughter of John Hall Mears and Elizabeth Farnsworth Mears (pen names "Nellie Wildwood" and "Ianthe", called the first Wisconsin poetess 〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/wireader/WER1040.html )〕) and youngest sister to Louise and Mary Mears. Mears studied at the State Normal School in Oshkosh,〔(Archival Artifacts: Albee Bust )〕 and art in New York City. In New York, she studied under Augustus Saint Gaudens for two years and worked as his assistant〔Petteys, Chris, ‘’Dictionary of Women Artists’’, G K Hill & Co., 1985, p. 486.〕 before heading to Paris in 1895 to continue working with Denys Puech (sometimes Puesch), Alexandre Charpentier and Frederick MacMonnies.〔Petteys, Chris, ‘’Dictionary of Women Artists’’, G K Hill & Co. publishers, 1985 〕 Her first success, before any formal art training, was "Genius of Wisconsin", a work commissioned by the State of Wisconsin when she was just 21. The work was exhibited in the Wisconsin Building at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. The marble sculpture was executed by the Piccirilli Brothers.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/fullRecord.asp?id=7074 )〕 It is now housed in the Wisconsin State Capitol.〔http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/WIReader/Images/WER0470.html〕 She, along with sculptor Jean Pond Miner were named "artists in residence" at the Wisconsin Building and that is where she created ''The Genius of Wisconsin'' while Miner produced ''Forward.''〔Beajer and Style, ‘’Public Sculpture in Wisconsin: An Atlas of Outdoor Monuments, Memorials and Masterpieces in the Badger State’’, SOS! Wisconsin, Save Outdoor Sculpture and Fine Arts Conservation Services, Madison Wisconsin, 1999 pp 23 & 107〕 Mears was one of a group of women sculptors christened the "White Rabbits" who worked under Lorado Taft producing sculpture for the World Columbian Exposition.〔(Mears, Helen Farnsworth 1872 - 1916 )〕 In 1907, Mears, and her sister, writer Mary Mears, were the first colonists at MacDowell Colony. Her most important works include a marble statue of Frances E. Willard (1905, Capitol, Washington) that is included in the National Statuary Hall Collection; portrait reliefs of Edward MacDowell (Metropolitan Museum, New York); and Augustus St. Gaudens; portrait busts of George Rogers Clark and William T.G. Morton, M. D. (Smithsonian Institution, Washington). In 1904 her "Fountain of Life" (St. Louis Exposition) won a bronze medal. She made New York her residence and exhibited there and in Chicago. In 1910, George B. Post, the architect of the Wisconsin State Capitol then being designed attempted to secure the services of the well-known sculptor Daniel Chester French to create a statue of ''Wisconsin'' to be placed on top of the dome. However French, having as much work as he desired, turned the commission down and so Post recommended Mears for the job. Without waiting for a formal contract she immediately began working on a model, even visiting French in the course of her work. Shortly thereafter, Post received a letter from French indicating that he was interested in the task and was quickly awarded it. Mears was paid $1,500 for the work that she had already done, but the loss of the commission was a shock from which she never recovered.〔Rajer & Style〕〔(Helen Farnsworth Mears, WHi-10583 )〕 Following the debacle surrounding the Wisconsin capitol statue, Mears's health declined as did her financial well-being. She died at the age of 43 on February 17, 1916 of heart disease.〔 At the time of her death, she was working in her studio at 46 Washington Square South, in Greenwich Village. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Helen Farnsworth Mears」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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