Notable people · Artist · Sculptor
John Quincy Adams Ward
J. Q. A. Ward was born in Urbana and became one of the most important American sculptors of the 1800s. He founded the National Sculpture Society and is buried in Urbana beneath a copy of his Indian Hunter.
At a glance
- Born
- 1830-06-29
- Died
- 1910-05-01
- Education
- Apprenticeship under Henry Kirke Brown, Brooklyn, NY, 1849-1856
- Known as
- Artist, Sculptor
- Organizations
- National Sculpture Society, National Academy of Design
Life story
John Quincy Adams Ward was born in 1830 in Urbana, the fourth of eight children of John Anderson Ward and Eleanor Macbeth. His grandfather, Col. William Ward, founded Urbana. A neighbor, Miles Chatfield, taught him to work in clay when he was 11.
After seeing a sculpture exhibition in Cincinnati in 1847, he apprenticed from 1849 to 1856 with sculptor Henry Kirke Brown in Brooklyn. He opened a New York studio in 1861 and was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1862.
His best-known works include the Indian Hunter (1866), George Washington at Federal Hall (1882) and The Pilgrim (1884). He taught at the Metropolitan Museum in 1888-89 and in 1893 founded the National Sculpture Society, which he led until 1905.
He died in New York in 1910. He is buried in Urbana, where a statue of the Indian Hunter marks his grave.
Timeline
- 1830-06-29: Born (Urbana, OH) source
- 1849: Begins apprenticeship with Henry Kirke Brown (Brooklyn, NY) source
- 1861: Opens studio in New York (New York, NY) source
- 1862: Elected to the National Academy of Design (New York, NY) source
- 1866: Completes the Indian Hunter source
- 1882: George Washington at Federal Hall unveiled (New York, NY) source
- 1884: The Pilgrim unveiled source
- 1893: Founds the National Sculpture Society source
- 1910-05-01: Dies (New York, NY) source
What John is known for
- Sculpted the Indian Hunter (1866), The Pilgrim (1884) and George Washington at Federal Hall (1882)
- Founded the National Sculpture Society in 1893
- President of the National Academy of Design
- Indian Hunter (1866)
- George Washington at Federal Hall (1882)
- The Pilgrim (1884)
Honors and things named for them
- President, National Academy of Design
- Trustee, Metropolitan Museum of Art and American Academy in Rome
Family
- brother: Edgar Melville Ward
- grandfather: William Ward
- wife: Anna Bannan
Places in Ohio to see
- Indian Hunter grave marker (grave)
Urbana, Champaign County ZIP 43078 (approximate) · Urbana · Champaign County · official page
Ohio places
Where John Quincy Adams Ward was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Urbana, Champaign County ZIP 43078 · Urbana · Champaign County
- Buried: Urbana, Champaign County (Oak Dale Cemetery area (grave marked by Indian Hunter statue)) ZIP 43078 · Urbana · Champaign County
- Worked: New York, NY, New York County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: John Quincy Adams Ward birth, training, career, honors, burial in Urbana