★ Bronze Portrait of William H. SewardFrom the National Bronze Picture Gallery. By Franklin B. Simmons ★

ca. 1865 Portrait Medallion of William H. Seward, Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State. By Franklin B. Simmons (1839-1913). Bronze. Extremely Fine.Approximately 16 inches overall; bronze, 12.75 inches. Marked on the truncation: W MILLER & CO METALLISTS / PROVIDENCE RI / F SIMMONS SCULP SFC W H SEWARD in three lines. Marked on the back of the truncation, PATENT / APPLIED FOR. These are all in individual letter punches. The bronze is constructed of two parts, the portrait bust individually cast and then screw-mounted to the bronze back panel. The bronze polished to a light orange and gold tone with traces of deeper patina in some of the recesses. Beautifully housed in the original circular wooden frame, patinated darkly and a striking aesthetic contrast with the bronze. Minor handling with a small interior frame chip and minor waviness to the rim of the bronze near 11 o'clock. An impressive and historic work that is both beautifully produced and preserved. Part of the historic National Bronze Picture Gallery produced by this firm in 1865, but not dated on this work. Two larger-format examples from this series were featured in our June 2021 sale, portraits of Generals Grant and Sherman. William H. Seward was United States Secretary of State as of March 5, 1861, entering this service upon the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln to his first time. He continued in this role through the administration of Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson. Earlier he had served as the 12th Governor of New York. Though it is not widely known today, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865 was part of a larger plot targeting two other officials, Vice President Johnson and Seward. Johnson's intended assassin failed to execute his role, while Seward was seriously injured, but survived, living until 1872. The National Bronze Picture Gallery This series of substantial bronze portraits was conceived by William H. Miller, owner of William H. Miller & Sons Foundry, in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1864, as the Civil War raged, Miller commissioned Maine sculptor, Franklin B. Simmons to produce a series of bronze portrait reliefs featuring Abraham Lincoln, his cabinet, and significant Union generals. Simmons moved to Washington, D.C. to work on the project, reportedly drawing from life all or most of the distinguished persons he would eventually fashion into bronze. Most accounts suggest the series was 24 portraits, though the Union League of Philadelphia website gives the number as 31. The complete series was finished in 1865, and was titled the National Bronze Picture Gallery. Again according to the Union League, the series of portraits was "exhibited in several northern cities including New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia, where the medallions were displayed at the 'Great Fair in Honor of the Soldiers and Sailors Home' held at the Academy of Music between October 23 and November 4, 1865." The two pieces offered here are from this impressive series, and make clear that Simmons' skill was substantial. As per the marks on these pieces, the castings themselves were almost certainly done at the Miller foundry. Franklin B. Simmons was an accomplished sculptor of portraits and life-size figures, born in 1839 near Lewiston, Maine where he grew up. He studied painting for a short time under John Bradley Hudson, Jr., but later shifted his focus to sculpture, which he found much more to his liking. He expanded his skill in sculpture under the tutelage of John Adams Jackson, in Boston, before returning to Lewiston, where he opened his first studio. While in Washington for the work on this series, Simmons sculpted a marble bust of William Tecumseh Sherman, now in the collection of the San Francisco Museum of Art. After completing his work in Washington, Simmons returned to Maine where he accomplished the first life-size portrait statue in the state, that of Union Major General and son of Maine, Hiram Berry, who had been killed in battle at Chancellorsville. He was commissioned by the state of Rhode Island to create another life-size figure, that of Providence Plantations founder, Roger Williams, which is displayed in the United States Capitol's Statuary Hall. Having taken an interest in classical sculpture, he relocated to Rome in 1868, where he largely lived out the rest of his life, with occasional return trips to the United States. He died there in 1913. Many of the bronzes from the National Bronze Picture Gallery are owned by the Union League of Philadelphia, to which they were donated or sold (accounts vary) in the 1860s by William H. Miller. Other works by him are in the Portland Museum of Art, United States Naval Academy, Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other institutions. Several works, in addition to the Roger Williams marble, can be found at the United States Capitol Complex. The works of the National Bronze Picture Gallery owned by the Union League of Philadelphia are as follows: Abraham Lincoln, Salmon P. Chase, William H. Seward, Christopher C. Augur, Nathanial P. Banks, Ambrose Burnside, Benjamin F. Butler, Abner Doubleday, Ulysses S. Grant, Winfield S. Hancock, Joseph Hooker, George Gordon Meade, Alexander S. Webb, Horatio Gouverneur Wright, and John Grubb Parke.

Estimate: $1000