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| Works by James Earle Fraser | |
|---|---|
| Name | James Earle Fraser |
| Birth date | 1876 |
| Death date | 1953 |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Sculpture |
Works by James Earle Fraser
James Earle Fraser produced an extensive body of public sculpture, numismatic portraiture, architectural ornament, and smaller bronzes between the late 19th century and mid-20th century that engaged audiences in Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and international venues such as Paris and London. His commissions intersected with institutions including the United States Department of the Treasury, the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Academy in Rome, and the National Archives. Fraser’s oeuvre responded to patrons like the United States Congress, the City of New York, and private collectors linked to families such as the Rockefeller family and the Guggenheim family.
Fraser’s most visible monuments include the sculptural group at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. and the equestrian figure of Theodore Roosevelt at the American Museum of Natural History site and in front of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, each project involving civic stakeholders like the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Sculpture Society. His End of the Trail theme originally exhibited at the Pan-American Exposition and later cast for placement in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, and the Philbrook Museum of Art became emblematic in debates involving the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Smithsonian Institution. Public works such as the Mormon Battalion Monument in San Diego, the Kansas State Capitol statuary, the Montana State Capitol decorations, and memorials for figures like John A. Logan and General Pershing engaged state legislatures, the Architect of the Capitol, and veteran groups including the Grand Army of the Republic.
Fraser’s portraiture extended to medals, coins, and plaques produced for the United States Mint, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and private mints connected to collectors like August Heckscher. His obverse and reverse designs for the Indian Head (Buffalo) nickel and the Standing Liberty quarter became subjects of controversy among officials at the U.S. Mint, critics from the National Sculpture Society, and legislators in the United States Congress. Portrait medals and bas-reliefs depict figures such as Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Charles Lindbergh, and cultural patrons from institutions like the New York Historical Society and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Fraser collaborated with architects and firms including John Russell Pope, Cass Gilbert, McKim, Mead & White, and the Architect of the Capitol office to integrate sculpture into projects such as the National Gallery of Art precursor commissions, the Federal Reserve Board interiors, and bank edifices on Wall Street. He provided allegorical groups and friezes for civic architecture tied to the Library of Congress initiatives, municipal commissions from the City of Boston, and commercial clients like the Chrysler Corporation. Work on courthouse panels involved coordination with judges, the American Institute of Architects juries, and preservation bodies including the National Park Service.
Major museums that acquired Fraser’s work include the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrospectives and loans connected to institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Academy of Arts, and the Paris Salon circulated bronzes that had provenance through collectors like Samuel Kress and boards such as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Curators from the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art debated Fraser’s role alongside contemporaries including Daniel Chester French, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Quincy Adams Ward, and Alexander Stirling Calder.
Fraser produced smaller bronzes, maquettes, plaster portraits, and graphite studies that entered collections of patrons like J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and civic museums such as the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Denver Art Museum. His sketchbooks and preparatory drawings were shown in exhibitions curated by the American Federation of Arts and sold through galleries affiliated with dealers like S. H. Kress & Co. and Kennedy Galleries. Subjects include cultural figures such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Chief Sitting Bull, Pawnee leaders, explorers like Lewis and Clark, and performers linked to venues such as Carnegie Hall.
Fraser’s commissions were awarded and reviewed by institutions including the National Sculpture Society, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Art Commission of New York City, and the Pan-American Union. Exhibitions at the Paris Salon, the Pan-American Exposition, the Armory Show circuits, and municipal galleries prompted commentary from critics at the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and journals associated with the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Awards and honors include recognition from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and invitations to lecture at universities such as Yale University and Columbia University, while controversies over monuments and coin designs involved lawmakers in the United States Senate and administrators at the United States Treasury Department.