Bashka Paeff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bashka Paeff
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| Born |
Belarusian: Башка Паэф
August 12, 1889 |
| Died | January 24, 1979 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | |
| Spouse(s) | Samuel Montefiore Waxman |
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Bashka Paeff (born August 12, 1889 – died January 24, 1979) was an American artist. She was a sculptor who lived and worked near Boston, Massachusetts.
People knew her as the Subway sculptor. This was because she made sculptures at the Park Street T station while studying art. She was famous for her lifelike animal sculptures. She also created memorials for wars, beautiful fountains, and portraits of people. Her art followed a classic style.
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Bashka Paeff's Early Life and Art Training
Bashka Paeff was born in Minsk, which was part of the Russian Empire in 1889. When she was just one year old, her family moved to the United States.
When she was about 13 or 14, she started art school. She went to the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. There, she studied drawing, painting, and art education. She also learned sculpture from a famous artist named Cyrus Edwin Dallin. She finished her studies in 1911.
In 1914, she continued her art education. She studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Here, she learned from another sculptor, Bela Pratt. It was during this time that she earned her nickname, the "Subway sculptor." She would work on her art at Boston's Park Street T station.
Bashka Paeff also spent time at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. This is a special place where artists can go to work. She visited seven times between 1916 and 1937. While there, she created a sculpture of Mrs. Edward MacDowell sitting in a chair. Later, Bashka Paeff married Samuel Montefiore Waxman. He was a professor at Boston University.
Famous Sculptures by Bashka Paeff
Bashka Paeff created many important sculptures. One of her most well-known works is the Maine Sailors and Soldiers Memorial. This memorial is located on Route 1, connecting Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Kittery, Maine.
The creation of this memorial had a small disagreement. She was asked to create it in 1924. But the next governor did not like the first design. After some small changes, the sculpture was put in place in 1926. It is now in John Paul Jones Memorial Park.
Another famous sculpture shows a boy and his dog. It is in Westbrook, Maine. A friend of Paeff's, Cornelia Warren, asked her to make this fountain. It honors Cornelia's father, John E. Warren. The sculpture shows a boy crouching on a rock. A dog is resting at the base. The boy is directing water into a pool for the dog to drink. The boy in the sculpture looks like John Warren's grandson. The dog was modeled after a pet belonging to a lawyer named Sherman L. Whipple. This sculpture is still standing today. You can find it near the Presumpscot River by the Warren Paper Mill.
Other Notable Works
- A fountain sculpture of a small boy with a bird. This is located at the Boston Public Garden near the Arlington Street entrance. It is called Boy and Bird.
- A statue of "Laddie Boy," who was President Warren G. Harding's pet dog. This statue was made from 19,000 US penny coins. It is now at the Smithsonian Institution.
- A bronze relief (a sculpture that sticks out from a flat surface) of Ellen Swallow Richards. This is at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- A relief showing the Battle of Lexington. You can see this near Buckman Tavern in Lexington, Massachusetts.
- Her bronze high relief, the "Chaplains' Memorial." This honors veterans from World War I. It is displayed in the Massachusetts State House.
In 1956, Bashka Paeff was asked to create a sculpture of Justice Louis Brandeis. He was a judge on the Supreme Court of the United States. She made this sculpture from Carrara marble. It weighed 1,000 pounds! It was shown for the first time in February 1957 at Brandeis University.
In 1969, a bronze relief of Martin Luther King Jr. by Paeff was revealed. Coretta Scott King, his wife, unveiled it at Boston University.
Images for kids
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Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis by Bashka Paeff at Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
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World War I Memorial- Jones Park- Kittery, Maine
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Boy and Bird Fountain (1934)- Boston Public Garden- Boston, Massachusetts
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Bashka Paeff sculpted this bronze sculpture and pedestal.
