Lot 177: [POE, Edgar Allan]

[POE, Edgar Allan]
Rudulph Evans (1878-1960)
Bust of Edgar Allan Poe
inscribed "R. Evans" (on the back) and inscribed Roman Bronze Works, N.Y.
bronze, dark greenish patina
Height 17 inches

Evans' bust is based on the well-known daguerreotype of Poe known as the "Ultima Thule" portrait. Clifford Krainik writes: "It was in 1909, the centennial year of Poe's birth, that Rudulph Evans, then a struggling young artist, received a commission to sculpture a life-size bust of Edgar Allan Poe. Evans had recently returned to America from his studies in Paris where he had been instructed by Rodin and Saint-Gaudens. The request for the bust came from Patrick Valentine, a wealthy art collector from Chicago who was the son-in-law and partner of Philip Armour...

"Evans interpreted the 'Ultima Thule' portrait in a direct and classical manner ... The signed edition was limited to two busts, one received by Mr. Valentine, the other retained by the artist" (The Poe Messenger, Richmond, Virginia: Poe Museum, Summer 1983, pp.7-8).

Born in Washington, D.C., Rudulph Evans studied at the Corcoran Art Gallery, the Art Students League of New York, the Academie Julien and Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He won the Bronze Medal at the Paris Salon in 1914, the Legion of Honor in Paris and the Crown of Italy in Rome. He is best known for his portraits of historical and literary figures, among them Simon Bolivar, James Pierce, John Greenleaf Whittier and this fine bust portrait of Poe.