Nationality American Name Charles Grafly | Known for Sculpture | |
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Full Name Charles Allan Grafly, Jr. Born December 3, 1862 ( 1862-12-03 ) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Died May 5, 1929, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Education Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts | ||
Charles Allan Grafly, Jr. (December 3, 1862 – May 5, 1929) was an American sculptor and educator. He taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for 37 years.
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Life and career
Grafly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of German, Dutch and Quaker heritage and developed an interest in art at an early age. At 17 he was apprenticed to Struthers Stoneyard, at that time one of the largest stone carving ventures in the country. He spent four years carving decorations and figures for Philadelphia City Hall, under the direction of Alexander Milne Calder. In order to improve his skills at carving figures and to improve his understanding of anatomy he began attending art school, eventually studying under Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1888 Grafly moved to Paris where he studied with Henri Chapu and Jean Dampt, and later gained admittance to the École des Beaux Arts, Paris. He received an Honorable Mention in the Paris Salon of 1891 for his "Mauvais Presage," now at the Detroit Institute of Art. Other awards include a Gold Medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle (1900) and medals at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, at Atlanta, 1895, and Philadelphia (Gold Medal of Honor, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts), 1899.
PAFA
In 1892 he became Instructor in Sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, also filling the same chair at the Drexel University, Philadelphia. He was a founding member of the National Sculpture Society and was elected a full member of the National Academy of Design in 1905. In 1913 Grafly was awarded the first Widener Gold Medal for sculpture.
The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts has about twenty of Grafly's bronzes in its collection, while the museum at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas possesses over two hundred of his works, mostly plaster casts, from the late Charles and Dorothy Grafly Drummond (the artist's daughter).
Among Grafly's many students were sculptors George Demetrios, Paul Manship, Louis Milione, Eugene Castello, Charles Harley, Nancy Coonsman, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, Dudley Pratt, Walker Hancock, Albin Polasek, Katherine Lane Weems, and Albert Laessle. The latter two served as pall-bearers at Grafly's funeral following his 1929 death, in which he was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Eleanor Mary Mellon was also among his pupils.
On his deathbed, Grafly asked Walker Hancock to succeed him as Instructor of Sculpture at PAFA.