Known for her bas reliefs, especially child subjects, and for portrait busts, Frances Grimes worked in bronze, plaster, and marble. She worked very cautiously, maintaining full control over the execution of her work and not leaving the details to assistants.

Grimes was born in Braceville, Ohio, and after graduating from high school, attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Her teacher, Herbert Adams, hired her because of her proficiency in cutting and carving marble. She followed Adams to Cornish, New Hampshire and spent time their regularly from 1895 to 1900 and lived with Herbert and Adeline Adams as an apprentice sculptor. Adams introduced her to Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and for six years she worked as his assistant. She became so dev...