William Clark Noble (February 10, 1858 – May 10, 1938) was an American sculptor best known for his monuments.

Early life Noble was born on February 10, 1858, in Gardiner, Maine. He was a son of Clark Noble, a ship’s captain, and Emma Freeman Noble, a descendant of Elder William Brewster, who came over on the Mayflower. After his father's death at sea, his mother, older brother, and infant Clark went to live on her father's farm in Richmond, Maine.

He studied with Horatio Greenough and Lorado Taft.Opitz, Glenn B., Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers, Apollo Books, Poughkeepsie, NY, 1988. Taft, in his History of American Sculpture, remarked that Noble was one of a group of sculptors who had, "made something of a specialty of military figures."Taft, Lorado, The History of American Sculpture, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1925, p. 435.

Career

Noble designed coinage for Guatemala and Panama."Works of sculptor W. Clark Noble placed on exhibition at 'Belcourt'", Newport Daily News, August 13, 1959, p. 16. His Guatemalan quetzal (1925)Guatemalan quetzal, from Numista. and Panamanian balboa (1931)Panamanian Balboa, from NGC. each exchanged for one US dollar. In 1924, Noble was selected by the Woman's Universal Alliance to create the Mothers' Memorial to be erected in Washington, D.C., in honor of motherhood and the world's great women.

He was a member of the National Arts Club and the National Sculpture Society.

"His best-known works include the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Newport, Rhode Island, and statues of Napoleon Bonaparte, Thomas Jefferson, and General 'Mad Anthony' Wayne for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis."

Personal life Noble was married three times, including his last marriage to the former Emile Berlin Bleecker. His son, William Clark Noble Jr., also became an artist.

Noble died on May 10, 1938, in Washington, D.C. He and his widow are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in South Gardiner, Maine.

Selected works Reverend Charles T. Brooks Memorial (1884), Channing Memorial Church, Newport, Rhode Island. Bas-relief portrait of Reverend Charles T. Brooks (1884), Redwood Library and Athenaeum, Newport, Rhode Island.Rev. Charles T. Brooks, from SIRIS. Bust of John McCullough as Virginius (1888), McCullough grave, Mount Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, John Lackme, architect.William Winter, In Memory of John McCullough, (Philadelphia: Devinne Press, 1889), p. 46-51. Old Salt – Bust of Captain James Logan (1890).Old Salt, from Invaluable. Reverend William Ellery Channing (1892–93), Touro Park, Newport, Rhode Island.William Ellery Channing, from SIRIS. Joseph Jefferson Loving Cup (1895–96), New Orleans Museum of Art."New Donations to New Orleans Museum of Art," NOMA press release, January 14, 2012. Modeled in plaster by Noble, cast in silver by Gorham Manufacturing Company. Features three 10.5 in (26.7 cm) figures of Jefferson in the roles of Rip van Winkle, Dr. Pangloss, and Bob Acres."The Silversmith's Art in Its Highest Estate", The Jeweler's Circular, June 22, 1898, cover & p.7. (Scroll up for photos.) Auctioned at Sotheby's New York, 21 January 2011, Lot 127.Joseph Jefferson Presentation Cup, from Sotheby's New York. Statuette: Joseph Jefferson as Rip van Winkle ().Joseph Jefferson as Rip van Winkle, from Mark Lasalle Fine Art. One of the figures from the loving cup. Lion and Eagle (1897–98), Commercial Cable Company Building, 20-22 Broad Street, Manhattan, New York City, George Edward Harding & Gooch, architects (demolished ).The Monumental News, January 1897, pp. 20-21. The bronze figures stood upon piers at the 5th story of the building's façade.Commercial Cable Company Building, from Amazon. They represented England and the United States – the two terminals of the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Cable. Bishop Phillips Brooks Memorial (1898), Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, Manhattan, New York City.Phillips Brooks Memorial, Review of Reviews, September, 1895, pp.258 & 270. A full-length bronze bas-relief portrait with a glass mosaic background by Louis Comfort Tiffany.Florence N. Levy, Art in New York, (New York: Art Service, 1922), p. 48.Joshua Newton Perkins, History of the Parish of the Incarnation, New York City, 1852–1912, (Frank B. Howard Press, 1912), p.190. (Scroll down for a photo.) General Anthony Wayne (plaster, 1904). Exhibited at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri.David Rowland Francis, The Universal Exposition of 1904 (St. Louis, MO: Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, 1913), p.204. This and other larger-than-life statues of historical figures from the 1904 World's Fair decorated Pennsylvania Avenue during President Theodore Roosevelt's Inaugural parade, March 4, 1905."World's Fair Statuary", Rock Island Argus, February 22, 1905, p.6. Monsignor Doane (1908), Doane Park, Newark, New Jersey.Monsignor Doane, from Newark History.Monsignor Doane, from SIRIS. Minerva or Lady of Wisdom (gilded copper, 1909), Maine State House dome, Augusta, Maine.Minerva, from SIRIS. The 15-foot (4.5 m) finial figure stands atop the lantern of the 185-foot (56.4 m) State House."The Statue on the State-House Dome" Maine Library Bulletin, vol. 13, nos. 1-2 (July–October, 1927), p.21.Minerva, from Tom Forst. Lincoln the Candidate (Bust of Abraham Lincoln) (1909), private collection.Lincoln the Candidate, from SIRIS. Bas-relief portrait of Edward Everett Hale (1909), American Unitarian Association Library, Boston, Massachusetts. Bust of George Washington Carver (1910).George Washington Carver, from Skinner Auctions. Statuette: Honus Wagner (1910), Roman Bronze Works.Honus Wagner, from Christie's New York. Bas-relief portrait of Mary Baker Eddy (1913).The portrait appears on the cover of Myra B. Lord, Mary Baker Eddy: A Concise Story of Her Life & Works, (1918). Bas-relief portrait of Prime Minister David Lloyd George (1922).Our World, November 1922, p. 9. Portrait medallion of Charles William Eliot (1924), Fogg Museum, Harvard University.Charles William Eliot, from SIRIS. Diameter: 6 in (15.7 cm)

War memorials Newport Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1889–90), Congdon Park, Newport, Rhode Island.Newport Soldiers and Sailors Monument, from SIRIS.Newport Soldiers and Sailors Monument, from Getty Images. General Josiah Porter (1902), Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, New York City.General Josiah Porter, from NYC Parks. A replica is on the grounds of the New York State Capitol, Albany. 50th Pennsylvania Volunteer Reserve Infantry Monument (1904), Antietam Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland.50th PA Infantry Monument, from SIRIS. The statue is a posthumous portrait of General Benjamin C. Christ.50th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Monument, from National Park Service. 100th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry "Roundheads" Monument (1904), Antietam Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland.100th PA Infantry Monument, from SIRIS. A replica (1917) is at the Civil War Monument, Danville National Cemetery, Danville, Illinois.Danville Soldiers Monument, from SIRIS. Civil War Memorial (1906), Centre County Courthouse, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.Bellefonte Civil War Memorial, from SIRIS. Governor Andrew Curtin (bronze, 1911–13), Pennsylvania State Memorial, Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania.Governor Curtin (Gettysburg), from SIRIS. A replica () was added to the Civil War Memorial, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania (Governor Curtin's home town).Governor Curtin (Bellefonte), from SIRIS. A replica (1922) is at Governor Curtin Park, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Governor Curtin (Harrisburg), from SIRIS. Bas-relief: In Flanders's Fields (1919), World War I Memorial, Riverview Congregational Church, South Gardiner, Maine.

References

External links

John Kelly, "A Mom-umental Failure", The Washington Post Magazine, May 11, 2008