James FitzGerald (artist)
James Herbert FitzGerald (1910–1973)[1] was an American sculptor from Seattle, Washington. He received a degree in architecture at University of Washington and worked at Spokane Art Center.[2] He has been called "[one] of the Pacific Northwest's preeminent artists of [his] period",[3] and "among the most innovative modern artists active in the Pacific Northwest."[4]
He was born and raised in Seattle, graduating from the University of Washington in 1935. FitzGerald went on to study at Yale University in 1938, where he received a Carnegie Graduate Fellowship, and at the Kansas City Art Institute.[5] He created works for the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP) and the Department of Justice in the 1930s with Boardman Robinson; and worked on other Works Progress Administration art programs in Washington state.[2] While he also studied as a painter, FitzGerald switched primarily to bronze sculpture in 1959 and became a well-known fountain designer. He established his own foundry in 1964.[5]
FitzGerald married Margaret Tomkins, a painter, and had three children.[5][6]
Selected works
- Department of Justice murals (with Boardman Robinson)[2]
- Bas relief panels at the east portals of the Mount Baker Tunnel, Seattle,[7] a designated Seattle landmark
- Waterfront Fountain, Waterfront Park, Seattle[8][9]
- Centennial Fountain, Marina Park, Kirkland, Washington[10]
- Fountain of the Northwest, Intiman Theater at Seattle Center[11]
- Tile mosaic, Washington State Library, Washington State Capitol campus, Olympia, Washington[3]
- Fountain of Freedom (aka Scudder Plaza Fountain), Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University[12][13][14]
- Rain Forest, as part of the Western Washington University Public Sculpture Collection
References
- Biographical thumbnail, Smithsonian Institution, retrieved October 2, 2012
- Oral history interview with James Herbert Fitzgerald and Margaret Tomkins, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, October 27, 1965, retrieved October 1, 2012
- Historic Sites of the Washington State and Territorial Library: 1853 to the present, Washington Secretary of State, retrieved October 1, 2012
- Margret Tomkins & James Fitzgerald, Martin-Zambito Fine Art, archived from the original on September 4, 2012, retrieved October 1, 2012
- "James FitzGerald, Seattle sculptor, dies". The Seattle Times. October 9, 1973. p. D14.
- Farr, Sheila (March 22, 2002). "Outspoken Seattle painter Margaret Tomkins dies". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- David Wilma (April 23, 2001), "Seattle Landmarks: Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge and East Portals of the Mount Baker Tunnels (1940)", HistoryLink, Seattle: History Ink
- "James Fitzgerald", Pacific Coast Architecture Database, University of Washington, retrieved October 1, 2012
- Woodridge, Sally B.; Roger Montgomery (1980). A Guide to Architecture in Washington State. University of Washington Press. p. 133. ISBN 0-295-95779-4.
- Centennial Fountain (IAS WA000150), Smithsonian American Art Museum/Art inventories catalog
- Fountain of the Northwest (IAS 75008690), Smithsonian American Art Museum/Art inventories catalog
- "Final Scene", Princeton Alumni Weekly, September 14, 2011
- Scudder Plaza Fountain (IAS NJ000204), Smithsonian American Art Museum/Art inventories catalog
- "Fountain of Freedom". Campus Art at Princeton. Princeton Art Museum. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
Further reading
- Poyner, Fred F. (2017). Seattle Public Sculptors: Twelve Makers of Monuments, Memorials and Statuary, 1909 – 1962. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4766-6650-1.