Frances Grimes

Grimes was born in Braceville Township, Ohio, the daughter of two physicians, and grew up in Decatur, Illinois. After attending local schools, she operated a sculpture studio in Decatur for about two years, before moving to Brooklyn, New York City to study at the Pratt Institute."Sculptor Dies: Frances Grimes — the name has meaning to long-timers," The Decatur Daily Review (Decatur, Illinois), November 17, 1963, p. 13.

Following graduation from Pratt, she worked from 1894 to 1900 as the assistant to her former teacher, sculptor Herbert Adams, who called her "the best marble-cutter in America".Lucia Fairchild Fuller, [https://books.google.com/books?id=aY8gAQAAMAAJ&dq=frances+grimes+sculptor&pg=PA34 "Frances Grimes: A Sculptor in Whose Works One Reads Delicacy,"] Arts & Decoration, New York, N.Y.: Artspur Publications, Inc. vol. 14, no. 1 (November 1920), pp. 34, 74. During the summers, she joined Adams and his wife, Adeline, at the Cornish, New Hampshire art colony. It was there that she met sculptor Augustus Saint Gaudens, who persuaded her to join him as his full-time studio assistant.

Grimes worked with the terminally-ill Saint Gaudens from 1900 to his death in 1907. She stayed on at Saint Gauden's studio to finish several of his commissions, including the Phillips Brooks Memorial at Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts (dedicated 1910);[http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=P48F2792771Q9.4166&menu=search&aspect=Keyword&npp=50&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=ariall&ri=&term=&index=.GW&aspect=Keyword&term=&index=.AW&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=.FW&term=&index=.OW&term=77006132&index=.NW&x=14&y=10 Phillips Brooks], from SIRIS. and eight larger-than-life caryatids for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, which she executed from his sketch models. She recorded her experiences at Cornish in her unpublished "Reminiscences" (Special Collections, Dartmouth College Library).{{Cite book|url=http://libcat.dartmouth.edu/record=b1856460~S1|title=Material on awards, honors, and society memberships|last=Grimes|first=Frances}} from Dartmouth College Library. Following six months in France, Italy and Greece, she moved to New York City in 1908, taking a studio on Macdougal Alley in Greenwich Village.{{Cite book|title=American Women Sculptors|last=Streifer Rubinstein|first=Charlotte|publisher=G. K. Hall & Co|year=1990|isbn=0816187320|location=Boston|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanwomenscu0000rubi/page/125 125–126]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/americanwomenscu0000rubi/page/125}}

A strong advocate of voting rights for women, Grimes served as marshal of the Sculptors division in the 25,000-woman October 23, 1915 Women's Suffrage Parade in New York City.[http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/event/oct-25-000-women-march-in-nyc-demanding-the-right-to-vote-52982111 Sculptors division], from Getty Images. Grimes is shown at left.

File:Washington Irving High School lobby detail 1.jpg, New York City]]

Grimes had a major success with her bas-relief panel The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1915). Designed as an overmantel for the lobby of the all-girls Washington Irving High School in New York City, it features three life-sized female seated figures reading Irving's classic story. Critic Adeline Adams saluted the work in the magazine Art and Progress:

"For me, this relief remains a most satisfying example of modern American sculpture. It delights because of the fitness of the theme and treatment to the purpose specified, the architectural strength of the design, the dignity, delicacy and sureness of the modeling, the harmonious rhythms of the figures and draperies; in short, because of its general state of grace as a modern classic."Adeline Adams, [https://books.google.com/books?id=v5w9AQAAMAAJ&dq=frances+grimes&pg=PA215 "A Relief by Frances Grimes,"] Art and Progress, vol. 6, no. 7 (May 1915), p. 217.

In 1916, Joseph Parsons commissioned Grimes to create two bas-relief panels to flank a fountain at his country house in Lakeville, Connecticut. Each panel featured a nude seated young woman, one holding a dogwood branch and the other holding a Chinese lute, who share a joyful over-the-shoulder glance. The reliefs were completed in plaster in 1917, and carved in marble by Amadeo Merli and Alexandro Nicolai. In December 1917, the panels were part of the "Allies for Sculpture" exhibition at New York's Ritz-Carlton Hotel, the proceeds of which went toward aiding World War I refugees and prisoners of war.[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sculpture-by-george-gray-barnard-at-the-allies-of-sculpture-news-photo/536063443?#sculpture-by-george-gray-barnard-at-the-allies-of-sculpture-at-the-picture-id536063443 Allies of Sculpture], from Getty Images. One of Grimes's panels is visible at far left. Daniel Chester French saw the panels, and asked Grimes to lend them for a 1918 exhibition of contemporary sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The marble panels remained on loan to MMA until 1944, when Parsons donated them to the museum.

Grimes worked in bronze and marble.{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Women Artists: an international dictionary of women artists born before 1900|last=Petteys|first=Chris|publisher=G. K. Hall & Co|year=1985|isbn=0816184569|location=Boston|pages=299}} She exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: 1907, 1911–13, 1915–16, 1924, 1933.Peter Hastings Falk, ed., The Annual Exhibition Record of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA, 1989), vol. 2, p. 224; vol. 3, p. 215. She exhibited regularly at the National Sculpture Society, whose 1929 catalog states that her work included "many bas-relief portraits, and busts, especially of children."National Sculpture Society (1929). Contemporary American Sculpture. New York, N.Y.: National Sculpture Society, p. 134.

Grimes was elected a member of the National Sculpture Society in 1912, and a member emeritus in 1961.[https://nationalsculpture.org/members/historic-members/ Historic Members] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629222324/https://nationalsculpture.org/members/historic-members/ |date=2017-06-29 }}, from National Sculpture Society. She was elected an Associate member of the National Academy of Design in 1931, and a full Academician in 1945.{{cite web|title=Frances Grimes - National Academicians|url=http://www.nationalacademy.org/academy/national-academicians/?na=G|accessdate=1 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116090401/http://www.nationalacademy.org/academy/national-academicians/?na=G|archive-date=16 January 2014|url-status=dead}} She was also a member of National Association of Women Artists and of the American Federation of Arts.{{Cite web|url=http://www.askart.com/artist_bio/Frances_Taft_Grimes/68755/Frances_Taft_Grimes.aspx|title=Frances Grimes - Artist Biography for Frances Grimes|website=www.askart.com|access-date=2016-03-05}}

She was awarded a Silver Medal for numismatic design at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. She received the 1916 McMillan Sculpture Prize from the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. She was awarded the 1920 National Association Medal of Sculpture from the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=slQEFSrX3ooC|title=American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: a catalogue of works by artists born between 1865 and 1885|last1=Metropolitan Museum of Art|last2=Tolles|first2=Thayer|last3=Dimmick|first3=Lauretta|last4=Hassler|first4=Donna J.|date=2001-01-01|publisher=New York, N.Y.: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 515-17|isbn=9780870999239|language=en}}

Grimes died at age 94 in New York City in November 1963. The following summer, a memorial exhibition of her sculpture was held at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire.Frances Grimes Memorial Exhibition, Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, New Hampshire, July 4 - August 8, 1964.

File:Charlotte Cushman in the Hall of Fame.jpg, Bronx, New York City.]]

• Relief portrait: Arthur Whiting (bronze, 1907), Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, New York City.
• Bust: Bishop Henry C. Potter (marble, 1911), Grace Episcopal Church, New York City.[http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=148327548F03Y.4129&menu=search&aspect=Keyword&npp=50&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=ariall&ri=&term=&index=.GW&aspect=Keyword&term=&index=.AW&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=.FW&term=&index=.OW&term=77003129&index=.NW&x=15&y=7 Bishop Henry C. Potter], from SIRIS.
• Boy with Duck (bronze, 1912), Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio.[http://emuseum.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/objects/55901/boy-with-duck?ctx=1e2df88e-3936-4f02-9373-b80624045846&idx=0 Boy with Duck], from Toledo Museum of Art. Other casts are at the Strong Museum in Rochester, New York,[http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=148327608CW3W.4133&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!23631~!1&ri=1&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=60790025&index=.NW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=1 Child with Goose], from SIRIS. and elsewhere.
• Girl by Pool (bronze, 1913), Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio.{{Cite book|title=North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: a biographical dictionary|last=Heller|first=Jules & Nancy|publisher=Garland Publishing|year=1995|isbn=0824060490|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/northamericanwom00hellrich/page/227 227]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/northamericanwom00hellrich/page/227}}[http://emuseum.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/objects/65530/girl-by-pool?ctx=1e2df88e-3936-4f02-9373-b80624045846&idx=1 Girl by Pool], from Toledo Museum of Art. A larger version in marble is at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.[http://www.brookgreen.org/VEwebsite/exhibit1/e10227a.htm Girl by a Pool], from Brookgreen Gardens.
• Relief portrait: General Jacob D. Cox Memorial Tablet (bronze, 1915), Administration Building, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, collaboration with muralist Kenyon Cox (Gen. Cox's son).
• Relief panel: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (plaster, 1915), Washington Irving High School, New York City.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bulletinofmunici1241muni|quote=Grimes Overmantel.|title=Bulletin of the Municipal Art Society of New York|last=Municipal Art Society of New York|first=The Grimes Overmantel|date=1915-01-01|language=en|page=[https://archive.org/details/bulletinofmunici1241muni/page/5 5]}}[http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1C83275712ID6.4131&menu=search&aspect=Keyword&npp=50&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=ariall&ri=&term=&index=.GW&aspect=Keyword&term=&index=.AW&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=.FW&term=&index=.OW&term=77003132&index=.NW&x=12&y=12 Sleepy Hollow Panel], from SIRIS.
• Relief panels: Girls Singing (marble, 1916–17), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.{{Cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search#!?q=Grimes,%20Frances&perPage=20&sortBy=Relevance&sortOrder=asc&offset=0&pageSize=0|title=Girls Singing|website=Metropolitan Museum of Art|access-date=2016-03-05}}
• Relief portrait: Charles Otis Whitman Memorial Tablet (1918), Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MassachusettsThe Marine Biological Laboratory, Twenty-First Report; For the Year 1918 (Woods Hole, Massachusetts: 1919), p. 354.[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZyYmAQAAIAAJ&dq=charles+otis+whitman+frances+grimes&pg=RA1-PA354]
• Relief portrait: Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Pearsons (1919), Decatur Memorial Hospital, Decatur, Illinois.
• Relief portrait: Dr. William Barnes, (1919), Decatur Memorial Hospital, Decatur, Illinois.[http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1483K7WA65719.4122&menu=search&aspect=Keyword&npp=50&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=ariall&ri=&term=&index=.GW&aspect=Keyword&term=&index=.AW&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=.FW&term=&index=.OW&term=75004383&index=.NW&x=11&y=9 Dr. Will Barnes], from SIRIS.
• Bust: Charlotte Cushman (bronze, 1925), Hall of Fame for Great Americans, Bronx, New York City.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/halloffame/onlinetour/browse.cfm?StartRow=67&BrowserStartRow=66|title=Charlotte Cushman - Hall of Fame for Great Americans - Face-to-Face Online Tour|website=www.bcc.cuny.edu|access-date=2016-03-05}}[http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1483276A0K7G7.4136&menu=search&aspect=Keyword&npp=50&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=ariall&ri=&term=&index=.GW&aspect=Keyword&term=&index=.AW&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=.FW&term=&index=.OW&term=76003149&index=.NW&x=12&y=9 Charlotte Saunders Cushman], from SIRIS.
• Bust: Emma Willard (bronze, 1929), Hall of Fame for Great Americans, Bronx, New York City.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/halloffame/onlinetour/browse.cfm?StartRow=78&BrowserStartRow=6|title=Emma Willard - Hall of Fame for Great Americans - Face-to-Face Online Tour|website=www.bcc.cuny.edu|access-date=2016-03-05}}[http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1483T763VP725.4140&menu=search&aspect=Keyword&npp=50&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=ariall&ri=&term=&index=.GW&aspect=Keyword&term=&index=.AW&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=.FW&term=&index=.OW&term=76003150&index=.NW&x=15&y=11 Emma Willard], from SIRIS.
• Chi Omega National Achievement Medal (gold, 1930). Grimes designed the sorority's gold medal – awarded 1930 to 1958 – and was the first recipient of it.Lyn Harris, [http://www.franbecque.com/2012/09/08/chi-omegas-national-achievement-award-1930-58/ "Chi Omega's National Achievement Award 1930-58"], from Fraternity & Sorority History.
• Relief portrait: Lt. General Nelson A. Miles Memorial Tablet (1931), Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.

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Category:People from Trumbull County, Ohio

Category:1869 births

Category:1963 deaths

Category:Pratt Institute alumni

Category:Sculptors from Ohio

Category:20th-century American sculptors

Category:19th-century American sculptors

Category:National Sculpture Society members

Category:20th-century American women sculptors

Category:19th-century American women sculptors