Bust of Charles Edward Forbes

Image ID: ART068
http://forbeslibrary.org/staff/omeka-uploads/art067.jpg
A bronze bust of Charles Edward Forbes, benefactor of Forbes Library

bronze sculpture signature and date inscribed on left side

Displayed in the Forbes Library lobby/Circulation Department, Northampton, MA.

Bela Lyon Pratt

In 1914, the Library trustees commissioned Bela Lyon Pratt (1867-1917) to do a bronze bust of the Library's founder, Judge Charles Edward Forbes (1795-1881). Judge Forbes would never permit a likeness of him while he was alive, so Pratt worked from his death mask. He seemed considerably more successful in humanizing the Judge than the various artists who also painted him from the same source, and whose austere results are found on the Library's walls. (These include Louise Appleton Bradbury's portrait of Forbes, commissioned by the trustees in 1907 for $350, oil, 45" x 35", restored in 1941. It also includes a rather formidable small likeness of Forbes, done by an anonymous painter.)

With wide lapels and even-wider bow tie, Pratt's bronze version of Judge Forbes presides daily over Library patrons. The sculptor, Pratt, studied with Saint Gaudens, among others. His statue of Nathan Hale stands at Yale University; he also made many war monuments and memorials.

Image Details

Dublin Core
Title
Bust of Charles Edward Forbes
Subject
Bela Lyon Pratt
Charles Edward Forbes
Bust
Bronze
Description
A bronze bust of Charles Edward Forbes, benefactor of Forbes Library

bronze sculpture signature and date inscribed on left side

Displayed in the Forbes Library lobby/Circulation Department, Northampton, MA.

Bela Lyon Pratt

In 1914, the Library trustees commissioned Bela Lyon Pratt (1867-1917) to do a bronze bust of the Library's founder, Judge Charles Edward Forbes (1795-1881). Judge Forbes would never permit a likeness of him while he was alive, so Pratt worked from his death mask. He seemed considerably more successful in humanizing the Judge than the various artists who also painted him from the same source, and whose austere results are found on the Library's walls. (These include Louise Appleton Bradbury's portrait of Forbes, commissioned by the trustees in 1907 for $350, oil, 45" x 35", restored in 1941. It also includes a rather formidable small likeness of Forbes, done by an anonymous painter.)

With wide lapels and even-wider bow tie, Pratt's bronze version of Judge Forbes presides daily over Library patrons. The sculptor, Pratt, studied with Saint Gaudens, among others. His statue of Nathan Hale stands at Yale University; he also made many war monuments and memorials.
Creator
Bela Lyon Pratt
Date
signed and dated 1914
Format
Bronze sculpture
Identifier
ART068
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Physical Dimensions
24" x 13.5"

Citation

Bela Lyon Pratt, “Bust of Charles Edward Forbes,” Forbes Library Images from the Archives (Legacy site: Pre-2022), accessed October 5, 2024, https://images.forbeslibrary.org/items/show/807.