T.H. Bartlett: The only game in town?
November 8, 2009 at 11:56 pm (Dallin Research, Discrepancies) (Boston, Boston Art Schools, Boston Terracotta Works, Cyrus E. Dallin, T.H. Bartlett)
Francis indicates that when Dallin was sent to Boston in 1880, he went to the sculpture school of T.H. Bartlett “…the only sculpture school in Boston.” The citation listed was “Edwin M. Bacon’s King’s Dictionary of Boston (Cambridge, Mass.: Moses King, 1883), p. 418.”
Google Books has now digitized this source for the 1886 edition, page 418 is in fact a listing about Unitarianism and Unitarian Churches in Boston, not sculpture schools. Perhaps it was not so in the 1883 edition.
I can see where the information came from — on page 358 of the 1886 edition of the book there is a quote under the heading School of Modelling: “There is but one school of sculpture in the city; and this is the undertaking of a single individual, T.H. Bartlett…” This is not true, however. There are many schools of sculpture and modelling contained within Bacon’s book. The Museum of Fine Arts (p. 23) was one of the major schools at this time along with the Mass. Normal Art School (p. 273). Why this statement appears in this book is confusing to say the least.
In any event, it appears that Bartlett was not the only game in town, although perhaps he had a relationship with C.H. Blanchard, one of Dallin’s benefactors, and for this reason Dallin was sent there. Although what type of education and training he received when the notation in Bacon’s guide indicates that “…the work [of the students] is primarily confined to the decoration of vases.” (p. 358) is anyone’s guess and likely the reason that Dallin did not stay long.
An interesting connection: the clay at Bartlett’s school was provided by the Boston Terracotta Works, a place where Dallin is listed as working while first in Boston (CED: LJBD, p. 8).
