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'''John Albert Wilson''' (1877-1954) was a [[Nova Scotia|Nova Scotian]] sculptor who produced public art throughout North America. He was a professor in in the [[Harvard Graduate School of Design|School of Architecture]] at [[Harvard University]]. He is perhaps most famous for his [[American Civil War]] monuments, the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] Statue ([[Silent Sam]]) in North Carolina and his Pennsylvania Volunteer Monument. Of the latter work, renowned sculptor [[Lorado Taft]] wrote, "No American sculpture however has surpassed the compelling power which John A. Wilson Put into his steady motionless 'Pennsylvania Volunteer."<ref>.George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.118 </ref> Pioneering master of [[modern architecture]] [[Walter Gropius]] reported that the studio Wilson designed for himself at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts "is the most beautiful in the world."<ref>George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.119 </ref>
'''John Albert Wilson''' (1877-1954) was a [[Nova Scotia|Nova Scotian]] sculptor who produced public art throughout North America. He was a professor in in the [[Harvard Graduate School of Design|School of Architecture]] at [[Harvard University]]. He is perhaps most famous for his [[American Civil War]] monuments, the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] Statue ([[Silent Sam]]) in North Carolina and his Pennsylvania Volunteer Monument. Of the latter work, renowned sculptor [[Lorado Taft]] wrote, "No American sculpture however has surpassed the compelling power which John A. Wilson Put into his steady motionless 'Pennsylvania Volunteer."<ref>.George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.118 </ref> Pioneering master of [[modern architecture]] [[Walter Gropius]] reported that the studio Wilson designed for himself at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts "is the most beautiful in the world."<ref>George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.119 </ref> In the last years of his career [[Time Magazine]] published a retrospective on Wilson's career. <ref>Time Magazine 1932 - the exact date is unknown. As cited by George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.119 </ref>


== LIfe and Career ==
== LIfe and Career ==

Revision as of 02:20, 14 June 2012

John Albert Wilson
Hector Pioneer by John Wilson, Pictou, Nova Scotia
Born1877
New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
Died8 December 1954
New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
NationalityCanadian
Known forSculpture
Notable workSilent Sam
MovementAmerican Renaissance

John Albert Wilson (1877-1954) was a Nova Scotian sculptor who produced public art throughout North America. He was a professor in in the School of Architecture at Harvard University. He is perhaps most famous for his American Civil War monuments, the Confederacy Statue (Silent Sam) in North Carolina and his Pennsylvania Volunteer Monument. Of the latter work, renowned sculptor Lorado Taft wrote, "No American sculpture however has surpassed the compelling power which John A. Wilson Put into his steady motionless 'Pennsylvania Volunteer."[1] Pioneering master of modern architecture Walter Gropius reported that the studio Wilson designed for himself at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts "is the most beautiful in the world."[2] In the last years of his career Time Magazine published a retrospective on Wilson's career. [3]

LIfe and Career

He was born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia (Potter's Brook), son of John and Annie Cameron Wilson, stone mason, emigrant from Beauly, Scotland. John Wilson attended New Glasgow High School when David Sloan was principal. At the age of fifteen he chipped out of stone, a lion that is now standing in front of Mrs. Caress's home on Summit Avenue.[4]

In 1896, at age nineteen, he went to Boston. At night he attended the Cowles Art School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He worked as an assistant to Henry Kitson.[5] He worked in the evenings as an usher in a theatre and he worked on the weekends as a professional boxer at the Boston Athletic Club.

In 1902 the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts accepted one of his works for its annual exhibition in Montreal. [6]

He taught classes for the Copley Society of Art in Boston. He joined the board of directors in 1913 and in 1927 was made Director of Classes.[7]

Wilson taught 5 years at the Worcester Art Museum, 3 years at Children's Walker School, 3 years at Bradford College.

In 1917, John Wilson started to teach at Harvard University when the scholarly Abbott Lawrence Lowell was president. He was appointed Instructor in Modelling School of Architecture, Harvard University. He stayed at Harvard for 32 years, retiring in 1949.[8]

After 50 years, when he retired, John Wilson returned to New Glasgow(1949) and lived for five years. He retired at East River, Potter's Bridges, New Glasgow. He died on Dec.8th, 1954 in the Aberdeen Regional Hospital, New Glasgow. Before his passing he donated property to the Aberdeen Hospital where Glen Haven Manor now stands. A plaque in his honor hangs in the Hospital's cafeteria.[9]

Works

Boer War

Boer War Monument by John Wilson, Pictou, Nova Scotia

In 1902-3 Wilson was studying at Boston, Mass., he was a young man who has shown promise as a modeller and sculptor, his figure of a lion (1902), representing Great Britain in South Africa during the Boer War, being an admirable piece of modelling from one of his age.[10]

Fireman's Memorial, Boston

In 1909, Wilson created Firemen’s Memorial for the Firemen's Lot at Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, Boston. Each year on the second Sunday in June, memorial services sponsored by the Charitable Association of the Boston Fire Department are held at the Firemen's Memorial at Forest Hills Cemetery in order to pay tribute to deceased members so they would be assured of a decent and final resting place and they would not necessarily end up in Pauper's Field. On a lofty granite base a larger-than-life fireman in bronze, attired for service but in a moment of contemplation. On each side of the pedestal were set bronze plaques, 3 ft. by 4 ft., depicting the life of a fireman in the spirit of a renowned set of Currier & Ives prints. Shown in vivid bas-relief were horse-powered equipment and men en route to their duty. The plaque on the rear of the statue pictures a nineteenth century pumper as it would have looked between fires in the firehouse with no horses, men, or background. The memorial was dedicated in grand style on June 14, 1909. On that day, set aside in all the state for past firemen, the memorial was dedicated in a ceremony partially presided over by John F. Fitzgerald, grandfather of John F. Kennedy and former mayor of Boston.[11]

American Civil War

In 1905, Wilson received his first major recognition when he was commissioned by the State of Pennsylvania to make a monument to the men who served in the American Civil War.[12] He received significant praise for this work from Lorado Taft.

Union private Daniel A. Bean of Brownfield, Maine, 11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment

In 1911, he created a statue of Private Daniel A. Bean of Brownfield, Maine, 11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Major Sylvanus Bangs Bean[13] served with the 11th Maine Regiment along with his son, Daniel A. Bean. Daniel was killed in Hampton, Virginia as a result of being shot in both thighs during the war. Daniel died before his father Sylvanus could see him at the field hospital. Daniel died on 06/06/1864 and is buried at Plot: D 2820, Hampton National Cemetery, City of Hampton, Virginia, USA. The statue of Daniel Bean stands in Brownfield, Maine, where the roads to Hiram and Denmark diverge. Of all the Civil War memorials erected by Maine towns, this remarkable monument was the only one cast in the image of a real person. The absence of weapons distinguishes it even further. The boy stands as he would have on his last day at home, holding his cap in one hand and waving a timid goodbye with the other.[14]

Confederate soldier Silent Sam, North Carolina

In 1913, Wilson was commissioned by the North Carolina Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy to make the The Confederate Monument (Silent Sam) for the students of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who served in the war. At least 40 per cent of the students entered the service, which is a record not equated by any other institution. Similar to the unarmed statute of Bean, Wilson created a "silent" statue by not including a cartridge box on the Confederate soldier belt so he cannot fire his gun.[15]

Other

External Links

References

  • G.E.G. MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): 4 pp.


  1. ^ .George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.118
  2. ^ George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.119
  3. ^ Time Magazine 1932 - the exact date is unknown. As cited by George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.119
  4. ^ John Wilson: Famous Nova Scotian from N.G. by Eric Barker. The Evening News, New Glasgow, N.S., 3 May 1972:
  5. ^ George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.117
  6. ^ George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.118
  7. ^ George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.118
  8. ^ John Wilson: Famous Nova Scotian from N.G. by Eric Barker. The Evening News, New Glasgow, N.S., 3 May 1972:
  9. ^ John Wilson: Famous Nova Scotian from N.G. by Eric Barker. The Evening News, New Glasgow, N.S., 3 May 1972:
  10. ^ Artists in Nova Scotia. Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, 1914, pp. 156-157
  11. ^ http://www.jphs.org/victorian/firemens-memorial-at-forest-hills.html
  12. ^ George MacLaren. "Nova Scotia's First Sculpture[: John A. Wilson]". Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, Vol. #3:2 (1973): p.118
  13. ^ Sylvanus Bean
  14. ^ http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/silent-witness-to-war?SESS87347230340d3304ac4a819ccf549544=google&page=full
  15. ^ ."Silent Sam (Civil War Monument)." The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Virtual Tour. Retrieved on March 1, 2008.
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