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Gilbert Franklin
American sculptor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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]
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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]
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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)
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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
External links
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