Gilbert_Franklin

Gilbert Franklin

Gilbert Franklin

American sculptor

Gilbert Alfred Franklin (1919–2004) was an English-born American sculptor and educator.[1] He was active in Providence, Rhode Island and Wellfleet, Massachusetts; and was best known for his public art sculptures.[2]

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Early life and education

Gilbert Franklin was born on June 6, 1919, in Birmingham, England, and raised in Attleboro, Massachusetts.[1][3] His father was a jeweler.[3]

Franklin's earliest coursework was at the Hawthorne School of Art (now the Cape Cod School of Art), studying under John Robinson Frazier.[3] He attended Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), graduating with a BFA degree in 1941;[3] as well as completing studies at the Museo Nacional de Arte (in 1942) in Mexico City; and the American Academy in Rome (in 1949).[3] He had been a student of Waldemar Raemisch, and John Howard Benson.[4][1]

Franklin was married to Joyce Gertrude (née Swirsky) and together they had one daughter, art historian Nina Franklin Berson.[1][2]

Career

Franklin served on the fine arts faculty at RISD between 1942 and 1985.[5] Two of his bronze works are prominent on the RISD campus, Orpheus Ascending (1963) and Daybreak (1968) the latter found on the "RISD beach".[5][6] He had been honored as the H.M. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts;[3] and served as a Dean of the fine arts department at RISD.[7] Additionally he taught at San Jose State University,[2] University of Pennsylvania,[3] Yale University,[3] and Harvard University.[3]

After his former professor Raemisch's death in 1955, Franklin completed Raemisch's 19 figure sculpture commission for public art in Philadelphia.[8]

In 1948, he was awarded the Rome Prize fellowship.[2][9] In 1959, he won the grand prize at the Boston Arts Festival for his work, Beach Figure.[10] Franklin was awarded the honorary title of National Academician (1991).[11]

Franklin died at the age of 85 on October 19, 2004, in his home in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.[2]

  • Gilbert Franklin's work
  • Abraham Lincoln (1954)
  • Orpheus Ascending (1963)
  • Daybreak (1968)
  • with Truman statue (c. 1975)
  • Harry S. Truman statue (1991)

Public works

  • Abraham Lincoln statue (1954), Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island; gift of the Henry W. Harvey Trust[2][12]
  • Orpheus Ascending (1963), Frazier Terrace, Rhode Island School of Design campus, Providence, Rhode Island[6]
  • Daybreak (1968), Rhode Island School of Design campus, Providence, Rhode Island[6]
  • Harry S. Truman statue (1976), Independence Square, Independence, Missouri[13]
  • U.S. Navy Memorial bas-relief (1991), U.S. Navy Memorial, Washington, DC[7][14]
  • Seaforms (1993), Wellfleet Public Library, Wellfleet, Massachusetts[2][15]

Exhibitions

  • 1993, Celebrating Long Point, group exhibition, Noel Fine Arts, Bronxville, New York[16][17]
  • 2004, solo, Picture Gallery, Cornish, New Hampshire[18]
  • 2016, The Bridge at the End of the Road, solo exhibition, John Spoor Broome Library Gallery, CSU Channel Islands (CI)[19]

References

  1. [1]
    Kohl, Benjamin G.; Linker, Wayne A.; Kavelman, Buff Suzanne (1995). The Centennial Directory of the American Academy in Rome. American Academy in Rome, American Academy in Rome Society of Fellows. American Academy in Rome. ISBN 978-1-879549-02-9.
  2. [2]
    Long, Tom (October 30, 2004). "Gilbert Franklin, sculptor noted for public works; at 85". Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. p. 27. ISSN 0743-1791. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  3. [3]
    "Gilbert Franklin". Provincetown Artist Registry. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  4. [4]
    "Student Completing Raemisch Sculptures". Newspapers.com. Pasadena Independent. September 8, 1955. p. 28. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  5. [5]
    "Franklin". American Craft. Vol. 63. American Craft Council. 2003. p. 66.
  6. [6]
    Van Siclen, Bill (September 2, 2015). "5 outdoor sculptures in Providence". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  7. [7]
    "Bas-Relief At Navy Memorial Honors Supply Corps". Newsletter. Supply Systems Command, Navy Department. 1991. p. 8.
  8. [8]
    "Student is completing Raemisch sculptures". Newspapers.com. Lebanon Daily News. 18 August 1955. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  9. [9]
    "3 N.E. Students Win Rome Fellowships". Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe, Associated Press. March 15, 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  10. [10]
    "SCULPTURE WINS PRIZE; Work by Gilbert Franklin Is Honored at Boston Festival". Times Machine. The New York Times. June 8, 1959. p. 29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  11. [11]
    "Gilbert Alfred Franklin". National Academicians eMuseum. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  12. [12]
    Fenton, Josh (June 29, 2020). "RI's Statues - A Glowing Tribute to White Men, Animals and Very Few Others". GoLocalProv. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  13. [13]
    Library of Congress Subject Headings. Vol. 2, Edition 32. Library of Congress. 2010. p. 3435.
  14. [14]
    Elbich, Chris. "US Navy Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  15. [15]
    "Exhibit: Wellfleet Public Library". Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. June 24, 1993. p. 122. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  16. [16]
    Zimmer, William (1993-01-24). "Artists-Cum-Beach Denizens Have Come In From the Cold". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  17. [17]
    Zimmer, William (1993-01-24). "Shades of Summer in Katonah, Timeless Works in Bronxville". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  18. [18]
    "Saint-Gaudens to open May 29". Newspapers.com. Rutland Daily Herald. May 29, 2004. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  19. [19]
    Gregory, Kim Lamb (October 12, 2016). "Work of internationally-recognized American artist Gilbert Franklin opening at CI". CSU Channel Islands. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
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