George Grey Barnard, Cloisters, Washington Heights | His Family, His Travels, His Sculpture

In his book, Modern Art: The Men, The Movements, The Meaning, Thomas Craven writes that George “passed his boyhood in the backwoods of Iowa, collecting birds and animals, and to preserve his specimens, stretched their skins over clay models. His facility with clay made him a local phenomenon, and when, at the age of thirteen, he modeled an astonishing portrait head of his sister, his career was signed and sealed.” (Source: © 1934, page 292)

Expanding on this, Calvin Tomkins writes, “Barnard spent a good part of his Iowa childhood stuffing birds and small animals, a hobby that led to his first job as a taxidermist for the Iowa Academy of Sciences.” (Source: Merchants and Masterpieces: The Story of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, © 1970, page 245)

“While still a boy he amused himself with his hobby of taxidermy, creating a little museum of stuffed birds and animals in the barn of the parsonage. But no one in the family gave much thought to his pursuing a career in sculpture, and eventually he was taken to a local jeweler to learn the skills of the engraver. He seems to have enjoyed his work and soon became quite proficient at it,” wrote Wayne Craven in his book Sculpture in America. (Source: © 1968, page 442)

In the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, we see that indeed the Barnard family has once again relocated. This time to Muscatine, Iowa [map]. GGB is listed as age 18 with an occupation of “clerks in jewelry store”. (Source: 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Second Ward, Muscatine, Muscatine County, Iowa, page 40, enumerated on the 17th & 19th day of June. Image obtained from Ancestry.com, and is being used for personal research purposes)

A newspaper clipping from the Waukesha Plaindealer mentioning George’s father and dated June 20th, 1872 states: “Rev. J. H. Barnard from Kankakee, Ill. [map], came here on Tuesday last to exercise one of his official duties. We are glad to see his genial face again among us.”

In the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, GGB’s sister, Mattie is listed as being age 5 with a birth place of Illinois.

The Kankakee County Museum web site states, “George Grey Barnard spent the formative years of his life, from age 5* to age 13, in Kankakee. Those childhood years were imprinted indelibly on his mind. For the rest of Barnard’s long lifetime… through his years of growing fame and success as a sculptor… childhood days and childhood friends in Kankakee remained a vivid presence.”

*This is contradicted by the 1870 Census which places the Barnard family in Waukesha, Wis. GGB would have turned age 5 in May 1868.

In his article, “Dramas in Stone,” W. M. van der Weyde writes that George “played with modeling wax as a boy of ten, but he had no thought then of being a sculptor.” (Source: The Mentor, Vol. II, No. 2, Serial No. 241, March 1923, page 20)

Several years before GGB past away, he donated a number** of his studio plaster statues and studies for display in Central School (at Merchant Street and Indiana Avenue, demolished in 1964). The surviving pieces from that gift, George Barnard’s legacy to Kankakee, form the core of the Museum’s collection.

**The Kankakee School District #111 web site states: “the sculptor donated 100 of his studio plaster statues and studies. Twenty of these statues are now displayed at the Kankakee Historical Society Museum.”

In 1870, George (age 8, b. Pennsylvania) appears with his family living in Waukesha, Wisconsin [map]. Listed are his father, Joseph H. (age 32, b. Pennsylvania), mother, Martha (age 28, b. Illinois), brother, Evan (age 5, b. Pennsylvania), and sister, Mary (age 1, b. Wisconsin). His father’s occupation was listed as Clergyman. The house number is listed as 432, but no street name is listed. (Source: 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Waukesha, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, page 56, enumerated on the 25th day of July. Image obtained from Ancestry.com, and is being used for personal research purposes)

The earliest newspaper clipping that I could locate in the Waukesha Plaindealer mentioning George’s father was from February 23rd, 1869: “New Berlin Caucus: Donation — The annual donation visit to Rev. J. H. Barnard, which has been before postponed, will be held (D. V.) at this house on Tuesday, Feb. 23d, afternoon and evening. All are invited to attend.”

I was able to locate an article, entitled “Art Made Him Poor”, in the Waukesha Freeman from July 4, 1907, that states, “forty one years ago, that is in 1866, Rev. J. G. Barnard became pastor of the Presbyterian church of this city, which was then a village.”

George Grey Barnard, son of Joseph Hoke Barnard and Martha Grubb, was born in this house located in the small Pennsylvania town of Bellefonte. Bellefonte is a town of 6,400 nestled in the mountains three miles south of Interstate 80, about midway across the state. This farmhouse structure built at 113 East Linn Street [map] is now the Barnard House Bed & Breakfast.

The Rev. J. H. Barnard married Miss Martha Grubb, daughter of George G. and Juliette, on June 6th, 1861 in Bellefonte. Together they would have four children, two sons and two daughters.

Also located in the town is the George Grey Barnard Sculpture Garden, which was formerly a gas station. The site was donated as part of Talleyrand Park by the Gulf Oil Corporation in 1978, and in 1983, the Talleyrand Park Citizens Committee installed a bust of Lincoln, cast from the original plaster head sculpted in 1917. In 1985 and 1986, the committee directed a Pennsylvania Conservation Corps and Borough of Bellefonte grant, continuing landscaping and constructing the foot bridges.

Welcome to the George Grey Barnard blog. GGB (May 24, 1863 - April 24, 1938) was a fascinating individual and made many lasting contributions to the art world with the sculptures he created. Through this blog I hope to trace through his life, family, residences and works. I also plan to catalogue all books, articles and photos relating to him and his works.

Who am I?

My name is Illya D’Addezio (blog) and I am a genealogist and family historian. My company is called Genealogy Today (web site).