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Frances Rich (born Irene Frances Lither Deffenbaugh; January 8, 1910 – October 14, 2007) was an American actress, artist, and sculptor. She was the daughter of actress Irene Rich.
Her works include portrait busts at
Biography from the American College of Greece (2004)Frances Rich papers
at the
Article from Madonna House
Wayback Machine)
Frances Rich arriving Burbanks Airport 1936 Christmas holidays; being greeted by her mother, Irene Rich
Wayback Machine) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Frances 1910 births 2007 deaths Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni American film actresses American stage actresses People from Gila County, Arizona Actresses from Spokane, Washington Artists from Spokane, Washington Smith College alumni 20th-century American sculptors Sculptors from Washington (state) 20th-century American actresses Artists of the Boston Public Library 21st-century American women 20th-century American women sculptors
Early life
Frances Rich was born January 8, 1910, in Spokane, Washington, U.S., to silent screen actress Irene Frances Luther Rich and salesman Elvo Elcourt Deffenbaugh. Her step-father was Charles Rich, who adopted her when he married her mother. Rich attended Smith College, from which she graduated in 1931.Career
Acting
Rich made her film debut in ''Diamond Trail
''Diamond Trail'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement ...
'' (1933), after which she acted in ''Zoo in Budapest'' (1933) and ''Pilgrimage'' (1933). She also appeared on Broadway in ''Brief Moment'' from November 1931 through February 1932.
Sculpting
Born inSpokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
, Rich received a B.A. from Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
in 1931. In 1933 she met sculptor, Malvina Hoffman
Malvina Cornell Hoffman (June 15, 1885July 10, 1966) was an American sculpture, sculptor and author, well known for her life-size bronze sculptures of people. She also worked in plaster and marble. Hoffman created portrait busts of working-class ...
, and studied with her in Paris for two years. Upon returning to America, she did intensive work at the Boston Museum School and established her own studio in New York City. Between 1937 and 1940 she was a resident student at Cranbrook Academy of Art
The Cranbrook Academy of Art, a graduate school for architecture, art, and design, was founded by George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth in 1932. It is the art school of the Cranbrook Educational Community. Located in Bloomfield Hills, Mi ...
. There she met sculptor Carl Milles
Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedes, Swedish sculpture, sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the ...
, with whom she worked for the next eighteen years.
Her works include portrait busts at Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
; the Army-Navy Nurse Monument in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia.
...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
; a bronze pelican in front of Pelican Building, University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
; marble bust of Alice Stone Blackwell for the Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...
(featured on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail); and portrait busts of Lotte Lehmann
Charlotte "Lotte" Pauline Sophie Lehmann (February 27, 1888 – August 26, 1976) was a German-American dramatic soprano noted for her successful performances with international opera houses, on the recital stage and in teaching.She gave memorable ...
, Margaret Sanger
Margaret Sanger ( Higgins; September 14, 1879September 6, 1966) was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. She opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, founded Planned Parenthood, and was instr ...
, Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art.
Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...
, Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...
, among others.
Architectural sculpture by Rich includes six monumental limestone bas reliefs at the Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
student union building, executed in 1938.Armitage, Merle, ''The Sculpture of Frances Rich'', Manzanita Press, 1974 p.18
Death
Rich died inPayson, Arizona
Payson () is a town in northern Gila County, Arizona, Gila County, Arizona, United States. Due to Payson's location being very near to the geographic center of Arizona, it has been called "The Heart of Arizona." Payson is also considered part o ...
, on October 14, 2007, aged 97.
References
External links
*Biography from the American College of Greece (2004)
at the
Sophia Smith Collection
The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history.
General
One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, a ...
, Smith College Special CollectionsArticle from Madonna House
Wayback Machine)
Wayback Machine) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Frances 1910 births 2007 deaths Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni American film actresses American stage actresses People from Gila County, Arizona Actresses from Spokane, Washington Artists from Spokane, Washington Smith College alumni 20th-century American sculptors Sculptors from Washington (state) 20th-century American actresses Artists of the Boston Public Library 21st-century American women 20th-century American women sculptors