A prominent carver of figureheads for ships, one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and likely America's first sculptor in the fine-art tradition, William Rush became well... Read full biography
A prominent carver of figureheads for ships, one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and likely America's first sculptor in the fine-art tradition, William Rush became well known in Philadelphia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. For fifty years, he oversaw a... Read full biography
A prominent carver of figureheads for ships, one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and likely America's first sculptor in the fine-art tradition, William Rush became well known in Philadelphia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. For fifty years, he oversaw a successful woodcarving shop with many apprentices at a time when Philadelphia was challenging Boston as the primary shipbuilding center in the United States. He is credited with introducing to America the... Read full biography
A prominent carver of figureheads for ships, one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and likely America's first sculptor in the fine-art tradition, William Rush became well known in Philadelphia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. For fifty years, he oversaw a successful woodcarving shop with many apprentices at a time when Philadelphia was challenging Boston as the primary shipbuilding center in the United States. He is credited with introducing to America the French style of figurehead, which was full length and called a "walking figure", meaning they were freestanding and appeared to be walking forward. These figures were in contrast to the prevalent English style, which was a stiff figure placed across... Read full biography
A prominent carver of figureheads for ships, one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and likely America's first sculptor in the fine-art tradition, William Rush became well known in Philadelphia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. For fifty years, he oversaw a successful woodcarving shop with many apprentices at a time when Philadelphia was challenging Boston as the primary shipbuilding center in the United States. He is credited with introducing to America the French style of figurehead, which was full length and called a "walking figure", meaning they were freestanding and appeared to be walking forward. These figures were in contrast to the prevalent English style, which was a stiff figure placed across a vertical timber of the bow. In addition to marine figureheads, Rush created allegorical figures and portr... Read full biography
William Rush - Artist Info
About William Rush: Books
Books & Publications (56)
Publications based on askART research. List may not be comprehensive.
The Artists Bluebook 34,000 North American Artists to March 2005
2005
AskART.com Inc. - Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson (Editor)
479 pages
Davenport's Art Reference: The Gold Edition
2005
Davenport, Ray
2,421 pages
The Shipcarver's Art: Figureheads and Cigar Store Indians in 19th Century America
2005
Sessions, Ralph
239 pages (color)
Mammoth Scale: The Anatomical Sculptures of William Rush
2002
Nemerov, Alexander
32 pages (color)
Masterworks of American Painting and Sculpture from Smith College Museum
1999
Editor, Smith College Museum
307 pages
Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: Three Volumes
1999
Falk, Peter Hastings (Editor)
3,724 pages
American Art History and Culture
1994
Craven, Wayne
687 pages (color)
Neo-Classicism in America: Inspiration and Innovation. 1810-1840 (Exhibition catalog)
1991
Garrett, Wendell (essay); Stuart Feld (Intro)
136 pages (color)
Annual Exhibition Record, 1876-1913, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Volume II (Exhibition catalog)
1989
Falk, Peter Hastings
612 pages
Annual Exhibition Record, 1807-1870, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Exhibition catalog)
1988
Falk, Peter Hastings
472 pages
Federal Philadelphia 1785-1825 The Athens of the Western World (Exhibition catalog)
1987
Garvan, Beatrice
96 pages (color)
Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers
1986
Opitz, Glenn B (editor)
1,081 pages
National Portrait Gallery Collection Illustrated Checklist
1985
Smithsonian Institution
461 pages
American Painting and Sculpture A Concise History
1984
Baigell, Mathew
420 pages
Sculpture in America (new and revised edition)
1984
Craven, Wayne
782 pages
Dictionary of American Sculptors: 18th Century to Present
1984
Opitz, Glenn B (editor)
656 pages
Artists in Virginia Before 1900: An Annotated Checklist
1983
Wright, R Lewis
200 pages
William Rush American Sculptor (Exhibition catalog)
1982
Bantel, Linda (others)
211 pages
William Rush: American Sculptor
1982
Editor: Pennsylvania Academy
211 pages
The Art of Healing, Medicine and Science in American Art (Birmingham Museum of Art) (Exhibition catalog)
1981
Gerdts, William H
120 pages (color)
The Britannica Encyclopedia of American Art
1981
Rugoff, Milton
669 pages (color)
Dictionary of American Art
1979
Baigell, Mathew
390 pages
American Art Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Decorative Arts
1979
Brown, Milton W (others)
616 pages (color)
Arts in America/A Bibliography Volume 1 (Sculpture, the West etc)
1979
Karpel, Bernard/Ruth Spiegel
730 pages
The Fine Arts in America
1979
Taylor, Joshua C
264 pages
The American Eagle in Art & Design 321 Examples
1978
Hornung, Clarence Pearson
113 pages (color)
American Art to 1900 Painting, Sculpture, Architecture
1977
Brown, Milton W
631 pages (color)
American Sculpture A Guide to Information Sources
1977
Ekdahl, Janis
260 pages
The American Flag in the Art of Our Country (Exhibition catalog)
1976
Allentown Art Museum
92 pages (color)
200 Years of American Sculpture (Exhibition catalog)
1976
Armstrong, Tom
336 pages (color)
Bright Stars: American Painting and Sculpture Since1776
1976
Lipman, Jean/Helen M Franc
208 pages (color)
Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art Philadelphia Museum of Art (Exhibition catalog)
1976
Marcus, George H. (Editor)
166 pages (color)
The Artist's America American Heritage History of
1973
Davidson, Marshall
416 pages (color)
Art in America A Brief History
1973
McClanathan, Richard
216 pages (color)
A History of American Art
1973
Mendelowitz, Daniel M
662 pages
American Masters, 18th and 19th Centuries Kennedy Galleries (Exhibition catalog)
1972
Wunderlich, Rudolf G; Lawrence A. Fleischman
64 pages (color)
Praeger Encyclopedia of Art (4 volumes)
1971
Bell, David
2,139 pages (color)
19th Century America Hundredth Anniversary/Metropolitan Museum (Exhibition catalog)
1970
Howat, John K (others)
220 pages (color)
The Art Makers of Nineteenth Century America
1970
Lynes, Russell
514 pages
The Arts in America The Nineteenth Century
1969
Garrett, Wendell (others)
412 pages
American Figureheads and Their Carvers
1969
Pinckney, Pauline A
223 pages
The Way of Western Art 1776-1914
1969
Richardson, Edgar P
204 pages
Arts of the Young Republic The Age of William Dunlap (Exhibition catalog)
1968
Dickson, Harold E
234 pages
The American Tradition in the Arts
1968
McLanathan, Richard
492 pages
Three Centuries of American Art (Exhibition catalog)
1966
Goodrich, Lloyd
150 pages (color)
American Art A Historical Survey
1966
Green, Samuel M
706 pages
Art and Life in America Revised and Enlarged Edition
1966
Larkin, Oliver W
559 pages (color)
One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition 1955 (Exhibition catalog)
1955
Pennsylvania Academy
153 pages
From Colony to Nation (Exhibition US works to War of 1812) (Exhibition catalog)
1949
Art Institute of Chicago
140 pages
American Portraits Catalogue of Portraits in Oil, Miniature, Sculptures
1941
New York Historical Society
367 pages
William Rush 1756-1833: The First Native American Sculptor
1937
Marceau, Henri
85 pages
Mallet's Index of Artists: International-Biographical Two Volumes: Includes 1940 Index
1935
Mallett, Daniel Trowbridge
1,130 pages
A History of American Painting Revised Edition, Two Volumes in One
1932
Hartmann, Sadekichi
363 pages
The History and Ideals of American Art
1931
Neuhaus, Eugen
444 pages
Art in America
1929
La Follette, Suzanne
361 pages
Impressions of the Art at the Panama Pacific Exposition (Exhibition catalog)