William John Coffee facts for kids
William John Coffee (1774–1846) was an English artist and sculptor. He worked with materials like porcelain, plaster, and terra cotta (a type of baked clay). He also painted with oil, but he was most famous for his sculptures.
William Coffee started his career as a modeller for the Duesbury china factory in Derby, England. Later in his life, he moved to America.
William Coffee's Life and Art
In Derby, William Coffee created sculptures of local people and important historical figures. One of his famous works was a life-size sculpture of Erasmus Darwin. This sculpture shows how skilled Coffee was at modelling. You can see this bust today at the Derby Museum.
Coffee also made a terra cotta copy of the Florentine Boar in 1806. He created several terra cotta statues of Greek figures for the garden of Joseph Strutt. These statues showed figures related to medicine and healing. Joseph Strutt gave his garden to the town in 1840, and it became the Derby Arboretum. The Greek statues are now missing or lost from the garden.
William Coffee also made a very tall, 10-foot-tall (3.0 m) terra cotta statue of Asclepius. This statue was for William Strutt's Derbyshire Infirmary, which opened in 1810.
Moving to America
In 1816, William Coffee moved from England to New York City. In America, he became well-known for sculpting American historical figures. He created sculptures of important people like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. Coffee also made the decorative mouldings for Thomas Jefferson's house and for the University of Virginia.
Images for kids
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One of his paintings
See also
In Spanish: William John Coffee para niños
