Thomas Hudson Jones (July 24, 1892 – November 4, 1969) was a

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

sculptor for the Army's

Institute of Heraldry The Institute of Heraldry, officially The Institute of Heraldry, Department of the Army, is an activity of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army solely responsible for furnishing heraldic services to President of the United ...

Biography

Jones was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. His father was an engraver and encouraged him from childhood to be a sculptor. He attended the Albright Art School in Buffalo, New York. Aged 19, he won the

Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Prizes have been awarded annually since 1921, with a hiatus ...

Fellowship for three years of study at the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects, ...

. The judges, however, decided that he was too young to go at the time. He worked in the studio of

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture '' The Minute Man'' in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monum ...

while French was working on the seated

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

for the

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in ...

. Jones left French in 1917. He also created the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is considered the most hallowed grave at Arlington Cemetery, America's most sacred military cemetery. The tombstone itself, designed by sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, was not completed until 1932, when it was unveiled bearing the description “Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God.” He also enlisted and served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and after the war took the fellowship in Rome. He returned to the United States in 1922 to sculpt and teach at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1934 he returned to Rome to serve as a Professor of Fine Arts at the American Academy in Rome. At the request of the Government, Jones left his McDougal Alley studio in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, New York in 1944 and started work for the Institute of Heraldry in the Washington. He stayed with the Institute of Heraldry after the war ended. He died in

Hyannis, Massachusetts Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer ...

Designs

Jones first job was a bust of General Grant for the Hall of Fame. Jones designed the ornate 50-foot-high

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

doors for the New Library of Brooklyn. In Washington, D.C., he designed three reliefs of law givers for the House of Representatives chamber in the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

(1950) and the Statue of Christ in St. Matthews Church in Washington, D.C. He designed the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air for ...

seal as well over 40 US military service medals including the

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...

Army of Occupation Medal The Army of Occupation Medal is a military award of the United States military which was established by the United States War Department on 5 April 1946. The medal was created in the aftermath of the Second World War to recognize those who had ...

, and

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. Arm ...

. His most well-known design was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, with its architect

Lorimer Rich Lorimer Rich (December 24, 1891 – June 2, 1978) was an American architect, born in Camden, New York. He is now best remembered for collaborating with sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones on the winning entry in a nationwide competition to create a ...

, in 1929. This work made him well known in government circles even before he came to Washington.

Family

Jones married Mildred Dudley, with whom he had four children: Anne, Kim, June, and Peter. His daughter, June Jones had a daughter, and his daughter Anne has two daughters still residing in Massachusetts. His great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren are attempting to reunite because of numerous adoptions in the family.

Recognition

His work earned him international acclaim and he was recognized by Who's Who in Art, Who's Who in America, and was a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome and exhibitor and member of the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the ...

.''Designing Medals, Seals, Tomb, Gate Work of Noted Heraldic Sculptor'', The Pentagram News, 22 September 1960, p. 5.

References

External links

*
askART: Thomas Jones
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Thomas Hudson 1892 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors