Mabel Landrum Torrey
Mabel Landrum Torrey (June 23, 1886 – April 1, 1974) was an American sculptor best known for her statuettes and sculptures of children. A number of her works were inspired by the poetry of Eugene Field.
Mabel Landrum Torrey | |
|---|---|
 Torrey's Wynken, Blynken and Nod Fountain in Denver, Colorado | |
| Born | Mabel Landrum June 23, 1886 Sterling, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | April 1, 1974 (aged 87) Ames, Iowa, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Art Institute of Chicago |
| Known for | Sculpture |
| Spouse(s) | Fred Torrey |
Early life and education
Torrey was born in a sod-roofed house in Sterling, Colorado in 1886.[1] Her father was a local judge.[2] She studied at the Colorado State College of Education where one day an art teacher looked at a bust she was modeling and said, "You are a sculptor." She then worked as a schoolteacher in her hometown of Sterling.[2] [3] Upon saving enough money, however, she traveled to Chicago to study sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 1912.[2][4] Her teachers there included sculptor Charles Mulligan.[1] The training provided at SAIC was strongly classical, and focused on "diligent training until one could manipulate clay into idealized human forms that conveyed abstract concepts."[2]
In 1916, she married Fred Torrey, who was also a student in sculpture at SAIC. They moved into Lorado Taft's Midway Studios.[5] At that time Torrey taught modeling at the Francis Parker School).[6] The Torreys' only child, Elizabeth Jane Torrey, was born on October 5, 1920.[7] "Betty", as she was called, was to serve as the model for at least 14 of Torrey's sculptures.[6] The Torreys resided at Midway Studios until the artist's colony dissolved in 1947.[8]
Artistic career
Torrey received her first major commission from the Mayor Robert W. Speer of Denver, Colorado in 1918.[5][9] The resulting work, the "Wynken, Blynken and Nod Fountain", was dedicated in 1919 in Denver's Washington Park.[5] The sculpture, which was based on the Eugene Field poem "Dutch Lullaby", remains a major Denver landmark. In the 1930 edition of his History of American Sculpture, Lorado Taft described the fountain as Torrey's most important work.[10]
Unlike her husband, Torrey did not become an "associated artist" of Taft's Midway Studios.[10] She nonetheless maintained a steady stream of sculpture commissions while also lecturing actively.[8]
Torrey also produced numerous statuettes based on her sculptures.[5] When the Torreys moved to Des Moines, Iowa at their daughter's urging in 1957, Torrey was able to turn this into a profitable business by connecting with a local manufacturer of art porcelain.[10]
Torrey's final sculpture, dedicated in 1961, was a collaboration with her husband, and one of the few sculptures on which the two collaborated.[10] Commissioned by the Iowa group "Friends of Lincoln," it depicts Abraham Lincoln reading to his son Tad.[11] The sculpture of the father was done by Fred Torrey, while the sculpture of Tad was done by Mabel.[11]
References
- Des Moines Public Art Foundation. "Fred Torrey". Retrieved 2016-03-05.
- Molloy 2001, p. 883.
- Hamlin, Gladys E., The Sculpture of Fred and Mabel Torrey, photographs by Fred Torrey, Borden Publishing Company, Alhambra, California, 1969 p. ix
- Hamlin, Gladys E., The Sculpture of Fred and Mabel Torrey, photographs by Fred Torrey, Borden Publishing Company, Alhambra, California, 1969 p. x
- Molloy 2001, p. 884.
- Francis W. Parker School (Chicago) p. x
- "Elizabeth Sun Obituary". Colorado Springs Gazette. 2010-07-29. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
- Molloy 2001, pp. 884-885.
- Sarah O. McCarthy (2014). Denver's Washington Park. p. 68. ISBN 9781439644874.
- Molloy 2001, p. 885.
- Des Moines Public Art Foundation. "Lincoln and Tad". Retrieved 2016-03-05.
- Molloy, Mary Alice (2001). "Torrey, Mabel Landrum". In Rima Lunin Schultz (ed.). Women Building Chicago, 1790-1990: A biographical dictionary. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 883–885.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)