{{short description|American sculptor}}
thumb|Randolph Rogers '''Randolph Rogers''' (July 6, 1825 in Waterloo, New York – January 15, 1892 in Rome, Italy) was an American Neoclassical sculptor. An expatriate who lived most of his life in Italy, his works ranged from popular subjects to major commissions, including the ''Columbus Doors'' at the U.S. Capitol and American Civil War monuments. He died in Rome Italy on January 15 1892 at age 66.
==Biography== [[File:Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii 01.jpg|thumb|left|''Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii'' (1853–54), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.]] Rogers was born in Waterloo, New York, and his family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan when he was a child.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Randolph Rogers' Ann Arbor Life {{!}} Ann Arbor District Library|url=https://aadl.org/node/127708|access-date=2020-11-30|website=aadl.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Randolph Rogers, The Sculptor {{!}} Ann Arbor District Library|url=https://aadl.org/node/188290|access-date=2020-11-30|website=aadl.org}}</ref>
He developed an interest in wood cuts and wood engraving, and moved to New York City about 1847, but was unsuccessful in finding employment as an engraver. While working as a clerk in a dry-goods store, his employers discovered his native talent as a sculptor and provided funds for him to travel to Italy. He began study in Florence in 1848, where he studied briefly under Lorenzo Bartolini.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Zz0bAAAAYAAJ ''Dizionario degli Artisti Italiani Viventi: pittori, scultori, e Architetti.''], by Angelo de Gubernatis. Tipe dei Successori Le Monnier, 1889, page 423.</ref> He then opened a studio in Rome in 1851. He resided in that city until his death in 1892.<ref name="PAFA">James-Gadzinski & Cunningham, pp. 58–61.</ref>
He began his career carving statues of children and portrait busts of tourists. He was not happy working with marble consequently all his marble statues were copied in his studio by Italian artisans under his supervision, from an original produced by him in another material. This also enabled him to profit from his popular works. His first large-scale work was ''Ruth Gleaning'' (1853), based on a figure in the Old Testament. It proved extremely popular, and up to 20 marble replicas were produced by his studio. His next large-scale work was ''Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii'' (1853–54), based on a character in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's best-selling 1834 novel, ''The Last Days of Pompeii''. It proved even more popular, and his studio produced at least 77 marble replicas.<ref name= "PAFA" />
In 1855 he received his first major commission in the United States: great bronze doors for the East Front of the United States Capitol. He chose to depict scenes from the life of Christopher Columbus. The ''Columbus Doors'' were modeled in Rome, cast in Munich, and installed in Washington, DC in 1871.<ref name="Columbus Doors">[http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/coldoors/index.cfm Columbus Doors] from Architect of the Capitol Webpage.</ref>
In 1854, Rogers along with William Wetmore Story, Richard Greenough, and Thomas Crawford were each commissioned by Mount Auburn Cemetery to create statues of famous Bostonians to be displayed in the cemetery's chapel.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trustees Records, Vol. 2, 1854 |url=https://www.fromthepage.com/mountauburncemetery/mount-auburn-cemetery/1831-005-002/display/1279252 |website=Transcribing Mount Auburn |publisher=Mount Auburn Cemetery |access-date=9 June 2021 |page=85}}</ref> Rogers was commissioned to create a statue of President John Adams.<ref>De Gubernatis, page 423</ref> In September 1857, Rogers shipped the completed marble sculpture from Rome, but the ship was lost at sea before its arrival.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bigelow |first1=Jacob |title=Letter from Jacob Bigelow to Louisa W. Crawford |url=https://www.fromthepage.com/mountauburncemetery/mount-auburn-cemetery/1831-039-006-007/display/1130717?translation=false |website=Transcribing Mount Auburn |publisher=Mount Auburn Cemetery |access-date=9 June 2021 |page=2 |date=15 January 1858 |quote=A statue of John Adams by Randolph Rogers, & one of Webster by Powers, are supposed to be lost having been shipped from Leghorn in the Oxford Sept. 1 & not since heard from.}}</ref> Rogers was then commissioned to create another copy of his sculpture of "John Adams" and was contracted to create a marble version of Thomas Crawford's plaster sculpture "James Otis" after Crawfords died suddenly.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fox |first1=Kathleen |title=The Statues of Bigelow Chapel |journal=Sweet Auburn |date=Spring 1996 |page=3 |url=https://mountauburn.org/wp-content/uploads/Sweet-Auburn-Spring-1996.pdf |access-date=9 June 2021}}</ref> (All of the sculptures were transferred to the Harvard Art Museums in 1935)
Following the 1857 death of sculptor Thomas Crawford, Rogers completed the sculpture program of the Washington Monument at the State Capitol in Richmond.
He designed four major American Civil War monuments: the Soldiers' National Monument (1865–1869) at Gettysburg National Cemetery; the Rhode Island Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1866–1871) in Providence; the Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1867–1872) in Detroit; and the Soldiers' Monument (1871–1874) in Worcester, Massachusetts.
He modeled ''The Genius of Connecticut'' (1877–1878), a bronze goddess that adorned the dome of the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford. It was damaged in a 1938 hurricane,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ahles|first=Dick|date=2003-09-21|title=Remembering the Great Hurricane of '38 (Published 2003)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/nyregion/remembering-the-great-hurricane-of-38.html|access-date=2020-11-30|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> removed, and melted down for scrap metal during World War II. A plaster cast of the statue is now exhibited within the building.<ref name= "PAFA" />
In 1873 he became the first American to be elected to Italy's Accademia di San Luca, and he was knighted in 1884 by King Umberto I.<ref name= "PAFA" />
Rogers suffered a stroke in 1882, and was never able to work again.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1892-01-18|title=More on Randolph Rogers|pages=2|work=The Inter Ocean|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26760852/more-on-randolph-rogers/|access-date=2020-11-30}}</ref> He left his papers and plaster casts of his sculptures to the University of Michigan, where there is also a ''Nydia'' replica.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arts.umich.edu/museums-cultural-attractions/heroic-figure-of-michigan/|title=Heroic Figure of Michigan {{!}} Arts & Culture|website=arts.umich.edu|access-date=2020-03-11|archive-date=2019-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215165319/https://arts.umich.edu/museums-cultural-attractions/heroic-figure-of-michigan/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/greek-annarbor/2016/12/20/randolph-rogers/|title=Randolph Rogers {{!}} Greek Ann Arbor|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/9627|title=Exchange: Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii|website=exchange.umma.umich.edu|access-date=2020-03-11|archive-date=2021-04-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416004252/https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/9627|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Moses Rogers House, 1861 {{!}} Ann Arbor District Library|url=https://aadl.org/buildings_hhaa020|access-date=2020-11-30|website=aadl.org}}</ref>
==Selected works== ===List=== [[File:The East Portico of U.S. Capitol, by Bell & Bro. (Washington, D.C.).jpg|thumb|right|350px|East Front of the U.S. Capitol ({{Circa|1875}}), showing Rogers's ''Columbus Doors'' (center, at top of stairs).]] *''Ruth Gleaning'' (1853), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ruth_Gleaning Ruth Gleaning]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ruth+2&version=CEB|title=Bible Gateway passage: Ruth 2 - Common English Bible}}</ref> *''Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii'' (1853–1854), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Nydia,_the_Blind_Flower_Girl_of_Pompeii Nydia]</ref> *''John Adams'' (1854–1859), Memorial Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.<ref>[http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~memhall/webpages-current/images2/ADAMS.GIF John Adams] from Harvard University</ref> *''Columbus Doors'' (1855–1861), East Front, United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.<ref name="Columbus Doors"/> *''Thomas Nelson'', ''Meriwether Lewis'', 6 allegorical figures (1857–1858), Washington Monument, Virginia State Capitol, Richmond, Virginia.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Virginia_Washington_Monument Virginia Washington Monument]</ref> *''Angel of the Resurrection'' (1862), Samuel Colt Monument, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, Connecticut.<ref>[http://cedarhillfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Colt-Monument.jpg Colt Monument]</ref><ref>Inscription at base of statue shows date as "MDCCCLXIV" (1864).</ref> *''Isaac on the Altar'' (1863–1864), Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York City <ref>[http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/118/Isaac_on_the_Altar Isaac on the Altar] from Brooklyn Museum.</ref> *''La Somnambula'' (1863–1864), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:The_Somnambula La Somnombula]</ref> *''The Sentinel'' (1863–1865), Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:The_Sentinel,_Spring_Grove_Cemetery,_Cincinnati The Sentinel]</ref> One of Ohio's first formal Civil War monuments.<ref>Campen, Richard N., ''Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio: A Comprehensive Overview of Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio, Mid-Nineteenth Century to the Present'', West Summit Press, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, 1980.</ref> *Soldiers' National Monument (1865–1869), Gettysburg National Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, George Keller, architect.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Soldiers_National_Monument,_Gettysburg Soldiers' National Monument]</ref> *Rhode Island Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1866–1871), Kennedy Square, Providence, Rhode Island, Alfred Stone, architect.<ref>[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rigenweb/article291.html Rhode Island Monument] from Rootsweb.</ref> *Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1867–1872), Detroit, Michigan.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Michigan_Soldiers%27_and_Sailors%27_Monument Michigan Monument]</ref><ref>Carolyn Damstra (Sept. – Oct. 1999). [http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/detroit/pdf/so99lee.pdf Randolph Rogers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061220155813/http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/detroit/pdf/so99lee.pdf |date=2006-12-20 }}''Michigan History Magazine''</ref> *''Abraham Lincoln'' (1870–1871), East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *Soldiers' Monument (1871–1874), Worcester, Massachusetts.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Soldiers%27_Monument_(Worcester,_Massachusetts) Worcester Soldiers' Monument]</ref> *''The Lost Pleiade'' (1874), The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Sculpture group of feuding tribes. *William H. Seward Monument (1875–1876), Madison Square, New York City.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:William_H._Seward_statue_(Madison_Square) Seward Monument]</ref> *''The Genius of Connecticut'' (1877–1878), Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford, Connecticut. *''The Last Arrow (statuette)'' (1879–1880), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.<ref>[http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/20012314?rpp=20&pg=1&ft=randolph+rogers&pos=1 The Last Arrow] from MMA.</ref> *''The Infant Psyche'' (bust of the artist's daughter Nora) (c. 1880), Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio.
===Images=== <gallery> File:Ruth Gleaning.jpg|''Ruth Gleaning'' (1853), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. File:Colt Family Monument (Randolph Rogers, sculptor), Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, CT - February 2016.jpg|''Angel of the Resurrection'' (1864) atop Colt Monument, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, Connecticut. File:Cincinnati - Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum "Civil War Soldier in Autumn".jpg|''The Sentinel'' (1864–65), Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio. File:Genius of Liberty on top of the Soldier's National Monument, Gettyburg.jpg|''The Genius of Liberty'', Soldiers' National Monument (1865–1869), Gettysburg National Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. File:Providence RI City Hall and Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument (cropped).jpg|Rhode Island Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1866–1871), Kennedy Square, Providence, Rhode Island. File:For Those Who Gave All....jpg|Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1867–1872), Detroit, Michigan. File:Lincoln 1871 Fairmount.jpg|''Abraham Lincoln'' (1870–71), East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. File:CivilWarMemorialWorcester.JPG|Soldiers' Monument (1871–1874), Worcester, Massachusetts. File:WLA brooklynmuseum Randolph Rogers The Lost Pleiad.jpg|''The Lost Pleiad'' (1873–74), Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York City. Seward statue in Madison Square Park (00284) (cropped).jpg|William H. Seward Monument (1875–76), Madison Square, New York City. File:Genius of Connecticut statue, by Randolph Rogers.jpg|''The Genius of Connecticut'' (1877–78), Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford, Connecticut. Painted plaster cast, the original bronze statue was damaged and destroyed. File:Randolph Rogers Labor.jpg|"Labor" from Soldiers' National Monument </gallery>
==Notes== *"Randolph Rogers," Susan James-Gadzinski & Mary Mullen Cunningham, ''American Sculpture in the Museum of American Art of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts'' (PAFA, 1997), pp. 58–61. *Millard F. Rogers, Jr. ''Randolph Rogers: American Sculptor in Rome''. University of Massachusetts Press. 1971. {{ISBN|9780870230875}}. *Marc Tarrozzi, ''Randolph Rogers and the Rhode Island Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument'' (1989). *William H. Seward was Secretary of State, 1861–1869.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Randolph Rogers}} * [http://www.sculptor.org/Sculptors/ByName/RandolphRogers.htm Sculptor.org information] * [http://wwar.com/masters/r/rogers-randolph.html World Wide Arts Resources information] *[https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/quick_search/query?utf8=true&q=artist:%22Randolph%20Rogers%22 Randolph Rogers] from University of Michigan Museum of Art
{{Randolph Rogers|state=expanded}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Randolph}} Category:1825 births Category:1892 deaths Category:19th-century American sculptors Category:American male sculptors Category:American expatriates in Italy Category:People from Waterloo, New York Category:Artists from Ann Arbor, Michigan Category:Sculptors from New York (state) Category:Sculptors from Michigan Category:Neoclassical sculptors Category:19th-century American male artists