Frank H. Happersberger (1859–1932) was an American sculptor based in San Francisco. He received training in a German royal art academy. He is best known for the monument for President James A. Garfield in Golden Gate Park and '' Pioneer Monument'', both in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Biography

Frank Happersberger was born in 1859 in

Placer County Placer County ( ; Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn. Placer County is included in the G ...

, California. His's father, Frank Happersberger Sr, was a Bavarian immigrant who moved from New York to San Francisco to join the Gold Rush. In his youth, Frank Jr. worked for the San Francisco firm of Kemp and Hoffman as a wood-carver. For eight years, he studied at a German art academy, and while still in Europe he entered and won a competition to build a monument to the assassinated

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

. The Garfield sculpture was completed in 1885, and established Happersberger's reputation. Happersberger established a studio in San Francisco at 51 Park Avenue. In 1894 he completed the Pioneer Monument, also in San Francisco. Happersberger was a member of California Parlor No. 1 of the

Native Sons of the Golden West The Native Sons of the Golden West is a fraternal service organization founded in the U.S. state of California in 1875, dedicated to historic preservation, documentation of historic structures and places in the state, the placement of historic ...

Personal life

Happersberger's wife Evangeline Ballou-Happersberger was the subject of a short 1894 article in the '' San Francisco Examiner,'' which described her skill at wood carving. A "wood carving revival" had been a fad out East, and Evangeline learned the skill from her husband. She was happily planning to carve "elaborate beams and panels" for a new house they were building. In 1899, Happersberger moved to New York, hearing that there was more work for sculptors there. He left Evangeline in San Francisco. She alleged that he had deserted her and sought a divorce, citing "cruelty and failure to provide the necessities of life." The resulting bitter and emotional confrontations between Frank and Evangeline were reported in the ''Examiner.'' Their divorce was granted in January 1900. He died on October 11, 1932 in

San Anselmo, California San Anselmo () is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. San Anselmo is located west of San Rafael, at an elevation of 46 feet (14 m). It is located about north of San Francisco. The town is bordered by San Rafael ...

at age 74.

Gallery

File:James_Lick_Memorial_(San_Francisco).JPG, The James Lick/Pioneer Memorial File:James Abram Garfield Monument, San Francisco.jpg, Garfield Monument in Golden Gate Park

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Happersberger, Frank 1859 births Artists from the San Francisco Bay Area 1932 deaths American people of German descent 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists 19th-century American sculptors 19th-century American male artists American male sculptors Sculptors from California