Rudulph Evans (February 1, 1878 – January 16, 1960) was a sculptor.

Early life and education

Evans was born February 1, 1878, 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 ...

, to Frank L. Evans, the descendant of a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

family, and Elizabeth J. Grimes, the daughter of Gassaway Sellman Grimes, a physician. He grew up in

Front Royal, Virginia Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was estimated at 15,400 as of 2023. It is the county seat of Warren County. History The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to beco ...

, and studied in France at the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

; his fellow students included

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

and

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

. He also studied at

Corcoran School of Art The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts an ...

under

Edith Ogden Heidel Edith Hope Ogden Heidel (February 8, 1870 – December 7, 1956) was an American sculptor. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Heidel studied sculpture with Augustus Saint-Gaudens at the Art Students League of New York. Sometime during the 1890s she mo ...

Career

After returning to the United States in 1900, Evans established and maintained a studio in New York City. The 1926 Montparnasse census reported his living at 17 rue Campagne Premiere in the 14th district together with his wife Jeanne Evans born in 1875 in Illinois. In 1918, he was elected into 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, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

as an associate member and became a full academician in 1929. He moved back to Washington, D.C., in 1949. Evans designed the statue of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

inside the

Jefferson Memorial The Jefferson Memorial is a national memorial in Washington, D.C., built in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, a central intellectual force behind the American Revolution, a fou ...

in Washington, D.C. At the time the memorial was inaugurated, in 1943, due to material shortages during World War II, the statue was of plaster patinated to resemble bronze; the finished bronze was cast by Roman Bronze Works of New York City in 1947. Evans' other noted works include the statues of

Julius Sterling Morton Julius Sterling Morton (April 22, 1832 – April 27, 1902) was a Nebraska newspaper editor and politician who served as President Grover Cleveland's United States Secretary of Agriculture, secretary of agriculture. He was a prominent Bourbon Dem ...

(1937) and of

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

(1937), both in the

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old Hal ...

of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

. Evans also sculpted the statue of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

(1932) in the

Virginia State Capitol The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the state capital. It houses the oldest elected legislative body in North America, the Virginia General Assembly, first established a ...

.Evans's statue of Robert E. Lee
for the Virginia State Capitol. Virginia State Art Collection.

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library is located at 800 East Broad Street, tw ...

. Accessed 23 June 2011. His statue of Lee was removed in July 2020 from the Old House Chamber in the Virginia Capitol.

Notes

References

Yonkers, Tescia Ann. "Behold His Bronze Likeness: Rudulph Evans's Statue of Robert E. Lee." ''Virginia Cavalcade'' 34 (Autumn 1984): 90–95.

External links

Evans's statue of Robert E. Lee
for the Virginia State Capitol {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Rudulph American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts 1878 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American sculptors American male sculptors National Academy of Design members Artists from Washington, D.C. Sculptors from Virginia National Sculpture Society members People from Front Royal, Virginia 20th-century American male artists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters