Cyrus Cobb (August 6, 1834 - January 29, 1903) was an American lawyer, sculptor, poet and musician.

Early years and education

Cyrus Cobb, twin brother of

Darius Cobb Darius Cobb (August 6, 1834 – April 23, 1919) was an American painter. Cobb was considered to be one of America's best painters during his lifetime, as well as a painter of society portraits, landscape, religious themes and historical costumes ...

, the painter, was the son of Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, Universalist clergyman, and Eunice Hale Waite Cobb, the writer. He was born in

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden is a hilly woodland area no ...

, August 6, 1834. He was educated at the public schools, one of which was the Lyman School in

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Revere, Mas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He studied art in America, declining to go to Europe for the purpose lest he should thus lose sympathy with American ideals. He studied law in

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

Career

Cobb served in the Union Army in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and afterward wrote a book entitled, ''The Veteran of the Grand Army'', in vindication of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

, of which he was a devoted member. Cobb was admitted to the Suffolk bar in June 1873, and practiced law for six years. In 1879, he devoted himself to sculpture, and produced a number of important works, both portrait busts and monumental statuary. Among them were a heroic statue of Abbott Lawrence and a bust of Theodore Parker. His colossal head of ''The Celtic Bard'', his

bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

of ''Prospero and Miranda'', and his bust of General Butler, placed him in the front ranks of his profession. His design for the soldier's monument (1869) in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

was selected from 40 or more submitted to N. J. Bradlee, the noted architect, as incomparably the best. Cobb also painted several pictures. His best-known painting is ''Warren at the Old South'', painted in 1880, though his portraits of Dr. A. P. Peabody and John Appreton were esteemed. He was an accomplished musician and was frequently heard at concerts. He also wrote a series of sonnets on the Masters of Art, which were published.

Personal life

He married Emma Lillie, while his twin brother, Darius, married her sister, Laura M. Lillie. He and Emma had five children. She died . Cobb died at

Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part, Allston is ...

, Massachusetts, on January 29, 1903.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobb, Cyrus 1834 births 1903 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American sculptors 19th-century American male artists 19th-century American writers 19th-century American musicians People from Malden, Massachusetts American twins Cobb family