Frank Stephens | |
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Born |
George Francis Stephens December 28, 1859 Rahway, New Jersey |
Died | June 16, 1935 Gilpin Point, Maryland |
Known for | Community planning |
Notable work | Arden, Delaware |
Movement | Georgism, Arts and Crafts Movement |
George Francis Stephens (1859–1935), known as Frank Stephens, was an American sculptor, political activist and co-founder of a utopian single-tax community in Arden, Delaware.
Stephens was born December 28, 1859 in Rahway, New Jersey, to Henry Louis Stephens and Charlotte Ann Wevil. He briefly attended Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in 1875, where he studied under Thomas Eakins at various times between 1879 and 1885. He served as Eakins' teaching assistant beginning in 1880, and married Eakins' sister Caroline "Caddie" Eakins on June 14, 1884. They had three children, Margaret, Donald, and Roger. Caroline died after giving birth in 1889. Stephens' second marriage was to Elenor Getty on November 29, 1905; they had 10 children.
Following art school, Stephens formed a Philadelphia decorative arts business with classmates Colin Campbell Cooper, Jr., Jesse Godley, and Walter J. Cunningham. He worked for several years on the sculpture of Philadelphia City Hall, and was an instructor in modeling at several art schools, including the Drexel Institute. He was a member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club from 1881 until his death in 1935.
On February 9, 1886, Stephens accused brother-in-law Thomas Eakins of sexual misconduct with his PAFA students and with his deceased sister Margaret. The charges ignited such a controversy that Eakins was forced to resign from PAFA.
Stephens, his cousin Charles Stephens, and Thomas Anshutz, all PAFA instructors, next took their accusations to the Philadelphia Sketch Club: "We hereby charge Mr. Thoms Eakins with conduct unworthy of a gentleman & discreditable to this organization & ask his expulsion from the club." A committee investigated, concluding that: "Eakins has used his position as an artist and his authority as a teacher to commit certain tresspasses on common decency and good morals." His honorary membership in the club was revoked.