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| William Henry Rinehart: American Sculptor | ||||||||
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William
Henry Rinehart was born September 13, 1825 on a farm near Union Bridge, Maryland.
Union Bridge, then part of Frederick County, would become part of Carroll County upon the
county's establishment in 1837. William was the fifth of eight sons born to Israel and
Mary (Snader) Rinehart and the great-grandson of Ulrich Rinehart (1704 - 1787).
Ulrich Rinehart had emigrated to Pennsylvania from the German Palatinate in 1733 and
eventually settled on a three-thousand acre farm in Chester County. His son,
William's grandfather, David Rinehart, left Pennsylvania and established his family as
farmers in Frederick County. David's
son Israel married Mary Snader, of English and German ancestry, after he freed his slaves,
a condition Mary had stipulated before her acceptance of his proposal. Israel
attained a high degree of prosperity as a farmer and was known as a stern man, widely
respected for his strict sense of honor, honesty, justice and economy in all things.
Mary has been described as a graceful woman of subtle sensibilities, a deeply
religious German Baptist (Dunker) who had an unfulfilled yearning for poetry and beauty.
Mary's nurture of William's talent, for which she was rewarded with his adoration
of her, some have said was "her only offering on the altar of what might have
been." |
| THE
EARLY YEARS |
At
seven years of age William entered the log Quaker Hill School not far from his home.
His education continued at Priestland, a school in neighboring Linwood, and for a
short time at Calvert College, scholastically a high school, in New Windsor. He made
some progress early in his education, more out of fear of his father's displeasure than
from a genuine affection for academics, but later proved to be an unenthusiastic student. William
was a high-spirited young man who enjoyed the companionship of his classmates.
Daniel Wolfe, a former classmate of the young Rinehart, remembered that William would
entertain his friends with a war-dance in which "his hair which was tolerably long
was tied up in a queue on top of his head. Thus equipped, he started around in a
circle, stamping and yelling savagely, giving at intervals a tremendous war-whoop and a
flourish of his club, often winding up his dance by rapping one over the head with his
club." Rinehart seems never to have lost this youthful exuberance. Once
William's disinterest with schooling became evident, his father put him to work on the
farm in earnest. William had engaged to some degree in the work of the farm since
his childhood, but now found himself in that work full time. He was put at teaming and was
sent to Baltimore each week with produce from the Rinehart and neighboring farms. William
had no more love of farming than studying, however, and was eventually secured a position
as a helper to a stone-worker by his father, who had caught the young man modeling a bust
of his mother while the horses under their plow stood idle beneath a tree.
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| The
heavy stone work soon proved too much for the young man's strength and he found himself
once again on his father's farm. Accepting William's uselessness as a farmer, his
father put him to work at a marble quarry that had been opened on the property. He
was set to the tasks of polishing and lettering blocks for tombstones, window and door
sills to be sold throughout the community. With this new work William finally seemed
to find his niche and was able to develop his ability.
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In
1846 at the age of twenty-one, the young Rinehart left his father's farm for the
opportunity of the city. In Baltimore William became an apprentice to Baughman &
Bevan, the largest stone-cutting firm in the city. He quickly worked his way up to
the position of foreman and, after only two years with the firm, was permitted to open his
own studio and accept private commissions. It was during this period that Rinehart's
work first caught the attention of William T. Walters (of art gallery fame), a Baltimore
merchant and art connoisseur for whom the young artist had repaired a mantel. This
fortunate encounter resulted in a life-long friendship and patronage for the aspiring
sculptor. William
supplemented his training with art courses at the Maryland Institute's night school.
He received a gold medal for a stone copy of Teniers' Smokers in 1851, and a
bust of the Rev. Dr. John G. Morris and a reclining figure entitled Faith were
publicly exhibited in 1853.
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| FROM OBSCURITY TO GREATNESS |
In
1855 Rinehart set off for Florence, Italy under the patronage of Walters and a few other
local philanthropists. Although he found the city full of aspiring artists and work not
nearly so plentiful, he managed to secure work as a stonecutter. Two years later he
returned to Baltimore with four bas-reliefs. William
tried his fortunes in Baltimore for a short time, but found the city an inappropriate one
in which to nurture his art. Models for his sculptures were practically nonexistent
and patronage available through only a handful of citizens. Some commissions were
secured during his stay, including many portrait busts and the caryatid figures for the
clock in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1858, William left the city for Rome,
where he would maintain his principal studio for the rest of his life.
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Rinehart's
work in Rome following his establishment as a professional sculptor may be separated into
three periods. The first, his first eight years in Rome, was signaled by his
completion of the bronze doors for the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The project had
been designed and begun by Thomas Crawford, but after his death Rinehart was selected by
the former's widow to complete the commission. A series of ideal subjects followed,
including Hero, a classical piece depicting the young woman of myth searching out
over the sea for her beloved, Sleeping Children, a funereal group for the Sisson
family lot at Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore, and Love Reconciled with Death,
commissioned by Walters following the death of his wife for his family's lot at
Greenmount. Rinehart returned to Baltimore for a brief time in 1866 and during this
trip completed a marble bust of Walters and secured the commission for a bronze statue of
U.S. Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney. |
| The
second period, lasting for about six years, was a busy one for the sculptor. Besides
his completion of the Taney commission, Rinehart was able to complete many portrait busts,
profitable but rather dull business for one eager to do more imaginative work, and many
other impressive works. Latona and Her Children, representing mother love with her
children Diana and Apollo, and Clytie, perhaps his masterpiece, depicting the
sweetheart of the sun gently caressing a sunflower, were created by him from marble and
represent but two fine examples of his artistry during this period. |
Rinehart self-portrait bas relief
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It
was also during this period that Rinehart completed a plaster bas relief of himself and
the marble bust entitled My Mother. The latter work was his tribute to the
memory of his own beloved mother. Rinehart had sent for the last cap she had worn
and incorporated it with the clay bust he had done in his youth to create this new piece.
He delighted his brothers by presenting each one with a plaster copy of the marble
one he had created for himself.
|
 Plaster
copy of My Mother by Rinehart
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Rinehart
returned to the U.S. in 1872 for the unveiling of the Taney statue in Annapolis, Maryland.
Walters, greatly impressed by this work, presented a replica to the city of
Baltimore for placement in Washington Square. Rinehart remained in Baltimore for a
short time, traveled to California, then returned to his studio in Rome. The
last years of Rinehart's life were spent trying to complete an incredible number of
commissions. Owning a bust by Rinehart had become highly fashionable and orders for
them flooded his studio. He pushed himself terribly in an attempt to complete them,
and still managed to complete many other portrait figure compositions, funereal groups and
ideal figures. Impressive as they all are, the finest of these last is perhaps the Endymion,
a depiction in marble of a young boy in perpetual sleep. His final work was the
funereal group fittingly entitled Victory over Death. It
had been Rinehart's habit to spend the worst part of the Roman summer in Switzerland, but
because of the tremendous backlog of work he made the unfortunate decision to remain in
Rome in 1874. It was during that summer he began a losing battle with tuberculosis,
the disease that would eventually end his life at the age of forty-nine on October 28,
1874. At
the height of his fame Rinehart was described as a compact man of medium height with a
fine head covered with curly brown hair. He never lost the enthusiasm for life he
had exhibited as a youth, and was well-liked for his robust and cheerful disposition by
all who had the good fortune to know him. He was eulogized in newspapers throughout
the United States and Europe, and funeral services were held in both Rome, where it was
reportedly attended by the entire artist colony, and in Baltimore, where, by his last
wishes, he was buried in Greenmount Cemetery surrounded by friends and many of his works.
His executors, Walters among them, had cast in bronze a copy of his Endymion
to be placed over his grave.
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| THE SCULPTOR'S LEGACY |
Rinehart's
too brief career left us with many fine bas reliefs, over one hundred portrait busts and
over thirty pieces of ideal statuary. Beyond this awesome contribution. the sculptor
was also able to create a lasting legacy ensuring further artistic beauty. Rinehart
had often given encouragement and financial support to family and friends who struggled
with their desire to create art, and he arranged for this encouragement and support to
continue after his death. By the provisions of his will the sum of money he had
inherited from his father was left to his brothers but the bulk of his estate was
designated for the advancement of art. The executors of his estate wisely invested
this money until 1891, when it amounted to one hundred thousand dollars. It was then
turned over to trustees of the Peabody Institute in Baltimore who used it to establish The
Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute, provide scholarships to Paris and
Rome for promising artists and in general advance the interests of sculpture and
sculptors. William
Henry Rinehart may not only be remembered as a famous Carroll County native son, but also
as a world-renowned artist who is regarded as one of the greatest sculptors this country
has ever produced. His legacy of art and of the promotion of art ensures that his
life will touch future generations. All that he has left us endures as a fitting
monument to his formidable talent.
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| GLIMPSES OF HIS TALENT |
| Many
of Rinehart's works can be seen in Baltimore, Washington and Annapolis. In
Baltimore, some of the sculptor's finest works can be found at the Peabody Institute, the
Maryland Institute, Washington Square and Greenmount Cemetery. The Historical
Society of Carroll County proudly possesses a number of artifacts and works relating to
the sculptor. In addition to the items on exhibit, the Society also possesses a
marble portrait bust executed by Rinehart, the datestone from the Rinehart home Marble
Knoll, many photographs and related articles. |
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| William Henry Rinehart: An American
Sculptor was on exhibit in the Kimmey House, headquarters of the Historical Society
of Carroll County, in 1995. Gallery guide written by Duane Doxzen. |
Historical Society of Carroll County |
