Frank Gaylord

Frank Chalfant Gaylord II (March 9, 1925 – March 21, 2018) was an American sculptor best known for "The Column", a sculptural tableau of United States soldiers and sailors which is part of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Frank Gaylord
Born
Frank Chalfant Gaylord II

(1925-03-09)March 9, 1925
Clarksburg, West Virginia, U.S.
DiedMarch 21, 2018(2018-03-21) (aged 93)
Northfield, Vermont, U.S.
Resting placeHope Cemetery, Barre, Vermont
NationalityAmerican
EducationCarnegie Institute of Technology, Temple University
Known forart, memorials
Notable workKorean War Veterans Memorial

Career

Gaylord was born in March 1925 to Richard and Thelma (Hamilton) Gaylord in Clarksburg, West Virginia.[1] He was named for his grandfather, Frank C. Gaylord. He graduated from Washington Irving High School in Clarksburg.[2]

Gaylord was drafted at the age of 18 into the United States Army.[2] He served as a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division during World War II.[3] He saw action in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.[4][3] During this time, he sketched many of the men he served with in the military.[5] He was wounded, and spent several months in military hospitals convalescing.[2]

After being discharged from the Army at the end of the war, Gaylord attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He transferred to the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1950.[2][6]

Gaylord and his wife moved to Barre, Vermont, in 1951.[7][8] Interested in a career in sculpting granite, Gaylord apprenticed under noted Vermont sculptor Bruno Sarzanini.[9]

Early in his career, Gaylord carved tombstones.[7] Over time, he received numerous commissions for life-sized and larger-than-life representational figures and figure groups throughout the United States and Canada.[2] In 1989 Frank became partners with his son-in-law John Triano. John ran the business and Frank was able to focus on the art. In 1990, Gaylord was selected to sculpt a field of 38 soldiers (later reduced to 19) for the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Some of the faces of the sculptures he created for the work (known as "The Column") are drawn from men he served with during World War II, including William A. Callaway[5] and John Erdman.[10]

In 2002, the United States Postal Service used a photograph of Gaylord's soldier sculptures for a stamp commemorating the Korean War. Gaylord sued for copyright infringement in 2006. The United States Court of Federal Claims denied his claim, but this was overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Gaylord v. United States, 595 F.3d 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2010). On remand, the Court of Federal Claims awarded Gaylord $5,000 in compensation. But on appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit again vacated the decision and remanded the case back to the Court of Federal Claims for a new determination of damages based on what Gaylord and the Postal Service might have negotiated.[11] On September 20, 2013, The United States Court of Federal Claims awarded Gaylord $684,845 in damages.[12]

Personal life and honors

Gaylord was married to Mary Cornwell. The couple had three children, Leanne Gaylord Triano and Victoria Gaylord. Also, his son, John Richard Gaylord died in 1962. He has two grandchildren, Amy Triano Tefft M.D., her husband Cory, his great granddaughters Quinn Nicole Tefft, Isabel Mary Tefft, great grandsons Theodore John Tefft, Henry Hart Tefft, grandson John Triano and his wife Natalya. Gaylord worked in a 7,000 square feet (650 m2) studio in Barre, Vermont.[2]

Gaylord was honored for his work several times. These recognitions include an honorary doctorate from Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, in 1998 and the Governor's Award from the Vermont Council on the Arts in 2003.[4]

Gaylord died at the Northfield, Vermont home of his daughter and son in law on March 21, 2018.[13] He was 93. He was buried in the Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont.[14]

Notable works

This is a partial list of Gaylord's works which have received public notice:

References
  1. Birth Record Detail. West Virginia Division of Culture and History. 2012. Accessed 2012-09-08.
  2. Shearer, Connie. "Making of a Monument: West Virginian Designs Memorial for Sometimes Forgotten Korean War." Charleston Gazette. July 16, 1995.
  3. Hallenbeck, Brent. "Barre artist Frank Gaylord, sculptor of Korean War Veterans Memorial, dies at age 93". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  4. Vermont Arts Council. 2004 Annual Report. Montpelier, Vermont. 2004, p. 3. Archived 2013-05-01 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2012-09-08.
  5. Efird, Jo Anne B. "Soldier Immortalized in Memorial Stone." The Callaway Journal. April 2000, p. 30.
  6. "The 2002–2003 Honor Roll." Gestures. Winter 2004, p. 5. Accessed 2012-09-08.
  7. Calta, MariaLisa. "Granite Art: It Isn't Just Tombstones." New York Times. December 11, 1988. Accessed 2012-09-08.
  8. "Evidence of 'Soul' Lets Sculptor Live A Dream." Boston Globe. July 10, 1990.
  9. Comiskey, Mary. "Sculptor of Partridge Statue Honored at Norwich Rededication." Northfield News. October 22, 2009. Accessed 2012-09-08.
  10. Kilian, Michael. "'Forgotten War' Remembered." Chicago Tribune. July 27, 1995.
  11. Gaylord v. United States, No. 2011–5097 (Fed. Cir. May 14, 2012); "Sculptor Can Recover Copyright Royalties From USPS – Fed Cir." Reuters. May 14, 2012.
  12. "Court papers" (PDF). uscfc.uscourts.gov.
  13. "Obituary, Frank C. Gaylord II". Times Argus. Barre, VT. March 23, 2018.
  14. "Frank Gaylord Obituary". Times Argus. April 3, 2018 – via Legacy.com.
  15. Sneyd, Ross. "Statue to Vermont's First Governor Dedicated." Associated Press. June 18, 1999.
  16. "Cristoforo Colombo [Waterbury, Connecticut]". Art Inventories Catalog. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  17. "Columbus statue decapitated in Waterbury, Conn. amid protests". Boston.com. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  18. "Governor Grasso Honored." New York Times. January 31, 1987.
  19. Milano, Philip J. "Statue Shows Kinder Side of Police Work." Florida Times-Union. October 12, 2002.
  20. "Fifth Third Field Gets New Artwork." SportsBusiness Daily. August 12, 2002. Accessed 2012-09-08.
  21. "Little League Honors Founders." United Press International. June 6, 1989.
  22. Milano, Kenneth W. The History of Penn Treaty Park. Charleston, S.C.: History Press, 2009, pp. 140–146.
  23. "Dedication of the U.S. Korean War Memorial in Busan, South Korea on July 28". Events. American Battle Monuments Commission. 22 July 2013. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. This is the third memorial commemorating the Korean War created by ABMC.
  24. Korean War Monument at Busan Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
  25. Delcore, David (September 28, 2013). "Barre granite is new, unique memorial in South Korea". Vermont Today. Rutland Herald. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
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