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Nancy Cox-McCormack, later Cushman (August 15, 1885 – February 17, 1967), was an American sculptor, writer and socialite. Between 1910 and 1953 she sculpted bronze and
terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...
busts and
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 ...
s of more than seventy sitters, including such notables as social reformer
Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of s ...
, lawyer
Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the 19th century for high-profile representations of trade union causes, and in the 20th century for several criminal matters, including the ...
, poet
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...
, Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
, Spanish dictator
Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, Grandee, GE (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during the last years of the Resto ...
and Indian politician
Mohandas K. Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ru ...
. Of the works she is known to have created, the location of only half is currently known.


Early life

Nancy "Nannie" Mal (or Mai) Cox was born in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, on August 15, 1885, the second of three children of Herschel McCullough Cox and Nancy Morgan Cox, a well-off Virginia couple. Nancy and her siblings contracted polio when Nancy was about three, and her sister and brother died of the disease in May 1888. Nancy's mother died of tuberculosis on December 13, 1888. Herschel McCullough Cox remarried and had a son, Henry Herschel Cox, with his second wife, Lena Lillian Warren. Herschel died in an accident when Cox-McCormack was a teenager on December 31, 1899. Cox-McCormack lived at a boarding school in Arkansas, then briefly with her stepmother in Nashville, Tennessee where she attended Ward Seminary. There she studied with artist Willie Betty Newman, working in pastels and watercolors. In 1909, Cox-McCormack enrolled briefly in the St. Louis School of Fine Arts at
Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...
in St. Louis. where she worked with Victor Holm.


Career


Chicago

In 1910, Cox-McCormack moved to Chicago, and enrolled at the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
, where she studied sculpture with Charles Mulligan. She opened a studio in the Tree Studio Building in Chicago. She lived and worked primarily in Chicago until 1920 during which time she sculpted over twenty-five pieces and wrote ''Peeps, The Really Truly Sunshine Fairy'', a children's book published in 1918. It was during this time in Chicago that her life intersected with many well known people such as
Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the 19th century for high-profile representations of trade union causes, and in the 20th century for several criminal matters, including the ...
, Grace Hegger Lewis,
Alice Gerstenberg Alice Erya Gerstenberg (August 2, 1885 – July 28, 1972) was an American playwright, actress, and activist best known for her experimental, feminist drama and her involvement with the Little Theatre Movement in Chicago. Background Gerstenberg ...
, Eunice Tietjens, and
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
. The first sculpture that she sold, entitled "Harmony", was shown at the January 1913 Chicago Artists Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. She also entered and won the Edward Ward Carmack Memorial Competition, Nashville. She was chosen to create panels on the themes "Woman in the Home" and "Woman in Civics" for the Rockford Women's Club in
Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...
. She also created altar panels of "The Annunciation" and "The Birth of Christ" for Trinity Episcopal Church in Chicago. She created a number of portrait sculptures during this period, including George and Frederick Woodruff of the First National Bank, and at least one death mask. Her entry in the ''Chicago social and club register'' of 1921 reads:
McCORMACK, Nancy Mai (Cox). Educated Ward Seminary, Nashville, Tenn.; Clubs Member of Art Institute; Activities Sculptor, principal works "Harmony", McCormack Memorial on capitol grounds, Nashville, Tenn., bust of W. H. Mitchell, also various statues, portraits of children, etc. Residence 19 E. Pearson St.


Europe

During the 1920s, Cox-McCormack traveled extensively in Europe. She visited France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and England, and established studios at
Via Margutta Via Margutta is a narrow street in the centre of Rome, near Piazza del Popolo, accessible from Via del Babuino in the ancient Campo Marzio neighborhood also known as ''"the foreigner's quarter"''. Mount Pincio is nearby. Via Margutta origi ...
48 in
Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
(1922–1924). She sculpted figures of a number of important people including Benito Mussolini, U. S. Ambassador Henry P. Fletcher, archaeologist Giacomo Boni, and political saloniste Lydia Rismondo. In Paris in July 1921, Cox-McCormack met
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...
. In December 1921, she cast a life-mask of him, and modeled a small portrait-bust. In 1922 and 1923 she met Ezra Pound and his wife
Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series * Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorot ...
again in Siena and in Rome. Through a chain of friendships, Cox-McCormack was able to meet and model Benito Mussolini, who had just risen to power in Italy, evoking widespread excitement among Cox-McCormack and her friends. Cox-McCormack had been in Rome during Mussolini's
March on Rome The March on Rome () was an organized mass demonstration in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (, PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fascist Party leaders planned a march ...
, and had seen what was happening at first hand. "Every artist I knew... was enthusiastic about the 'stellone' (great star) who had appeared in the sky 'to save Italy from utter ruin.'" She considered him "a creative force" and "the inspiration of the new epoch in Europe". She completed his bust in ten sittings during May and June 1923. It was the first bust made of the new ruler. (Years later, she became disenchanted with Mussolini's regime). During the 1920s, Cox-McCormack exhibited in Rome, Paris, New York, and Chicago. Pieces produced during this time were exhibited in Paris at the Galleries Jacques Seligman, the Salon of 1923, and at the 1923-24 Exposition Biennale Internationale des Beaux Arts in Rome. Her one-woman shows then included: * the Jacques Seligman Galleries in both Paris and New York * the National Gallery in Washington * the Art Institute of Chicago * the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. In 1931, she traveled to England to model Mahatma Gandhi, who was then attending the Indian Conference in London.


Writing and later career

Cushman returned to the United States in 1924 settling in New York and Pennsylvania where she wrote her memoirs and a book, Pleasant Days in Spain, which includes an account of modeling the Spanish dictator, Miguel Primo de Rivera. During the next eight years she sculpted a number of portrait busts and a bas-relief memorial medallion of
Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of s ...
. She continued to work on her memoirs and traveled throughout the United States speaking of her experiences. She appeared on the NBC ''Woman's Radio Review'' in 1936.


Legacy

Her work received little critical attention during her lifetime or since, but local newspapers covered her work and travels extensively.


Personal life

Unhappy in her home life, Cox-McCormack married Mark McCormack in 1903, but separated from him in 1909 and divorced as of 1911. Cox-McCormack married Charles Thomas Cushman of
Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south ...
, New York City on December 21, 1939. The couple settled at 62 Montague Street,
Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south ...
, New York City. In the 1950s, they returned to Europe together, visiting Sicily, Rome and Florence. In December 1955, they moved to
Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
. The pair traveled extensively until his death in 1962. Her last work was her husband's tombstone.


Death

Nancy Cox-McCormack died in
Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
on February 17, 1967.


Gallery

File:Nancy Cox-McCormack 1925 Benito Mussolini.jpg , Benito Mussolini File:Nancy Cox-McCormack General Primo de Rivera Spain.tif , General Primo de Rivera File:Edward Ward Carmack statue Tennessee Capitol.jpg , Statue of Edward W. Carmack,
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...


References


External links


Nancy Cox-McCormack Cushman papers
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 Collections
Nancy Cox-McCormack papers
at the
Tennessee State Library and Archives The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), established in 1854, currently operates as a unit of the Tennessee Department of State. According to the Tennessee Blue Book, the Library and Archives "collects and preserves books and records of h ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox-McCormack, Nancy 1885 births 1967 deaths American socialites 20th-century American sculptors Artists from Nashville, Tennessee 20th-century American women sculptors Sculptors from Tennessee Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts alumni