Bryant Baker
| Bryant Baker | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Percy Bryant Baker July 8, 1881 London, England, U.K. |
| Died | March 29, 1970 (aged 88) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | British American |
| Education |
City and Guild Technical Institute Royal Academy of Arts |
| Known for | Sculpture |
| Notable work | Pioneer Woman; L'Apres-Midi d'un Faune; George Washington, Mason |
Percy Bryant Baker (July 8, 1881 – March 29, 1970) better known as Bryant Baker, was a British-born American sculptor. He sculpted a number of busts of famous Americans (including five presidents). In 1910, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom commissioned him to create a bust of King Edward VII.
Baker was born on July 8, 1881, in London, United Kingdom, to John Baker, a sculptor. His father and his sculptor grandfather both worked on wood and stone carvings at Westminster Abbey. His brother was Robert P. Baker, also a sculptor of note. He became an apprentice sculptor under his father, and carved Gothic statues for Beverley Minster and decorative elements for the Victoria and Albert Museum. He studied art and sculpting at the City and Guild Technical Institute and later at the Royal Academy of Arts. He graduated from the latter in 1910.
In 1910, Queen Alexandra commissioned him to sculpt a bust of Edward VII. She was so impressed with his work, that she then commissioned him to design a life-size statue of Edward VII, and later a bust in marble of the nine-year-old Prince Olaf of Norway.
In 1916, Baker emigrated to the United States, where he enlisted in the United States Army. He served during World War I in Army hospitals, crafting artificial limbs and face masks for wounded soldiers. He became a U.S. citizen in 1923.
In 1928, millionaire Oklahoma oilman E. W. Marland sponsored a $100,000 competition to create a statue honoring pioneering women of the American Old West. Baker won the design competition, and in 1930 his 27-foot (8.2 m) high, 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg) statue, Pioneer Woman, was unveiled in Ponca City, Oklahoma. It became his best-known work. In 1957, Baker was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full member in 1959.
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