In 1891, at the Tercentenary of Shakespeare’s Birth, Providence, RI held a competition for a RISD exhibit to put up a statue in his honor. There were several entries, including one from the young Boston sculptor, Theo Ruggles.
Now this Ruggles was a talented gal. At the age of 17, she’d won honorable mention in the Paris Salon, which had rejected so many heavy hitters over the years. She was the toast of Boston when she returned from Paris and she dedicated herself to large works with her soon-to-be husband, Henry Kitson.
The piece she submitted to Providence was a seated Shakespeare, well-executed in repose. It was widely regarded to be the best of the field. But she was doomed. According to one newspaper account written before the tally was in, “Miss Ruggles will probably not be awarded the commission for natural causes, but her contribution is certainly the most artistic thing shown.” The natural causes, of course, were the accident of her sex.
15 years earlier, up in Boston, accomplished sculptor Anne Whitney submitted a piece to the competition for the Sumner sculpture to be placed in the Public Garden there. She was a friend of the feisty old Senator and got him to sit for her. Her piece, a very credible work, was tapped for top honors by the selection committee. But when they found out the sculptor was (gasp!) a woman, they handed her a check for $500 and awarded it to a competitor. Whitney, who had done private commissions in the city before, was more than a little irritated. She vowed never to compete again. And when she was 90, the work finally came to rest in Harvard Square where it sits today, though few notice or recognize it as they speed by in their cars. One websource even noted the statue, but cried, "Who is this man?"
And while we’re on the subject of rejected women sculptors… one of the most intriguing to me was that society gal, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. She had money, she had talent, she had time- and she did really outstanding work, I think. But for years, she had to submit her stuff under a false name because when judges realized it was that Vanderbilt girl at it again, they tended to reject her with the stamp of dilettante.
I hope the tide has turned since then and that women and men stand on a more even ground these days, especially since Maya Lin hit the scene. At least when work is rejected now, judges must be more subtle than to declare thumbs down due to “natural causes”.
(Photo from http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~hyunyong/Boston.htm)
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