Olin Levi Warner
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Olin Levi Warner (April 9, 1844 - August 1896) was born in Suffield, Connecticut. In his younger life he worked as an artisan and a telegraph operator. In 1869 he had saved up enough money to move to Paris, where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Francois Jouffroy, and worked as an assistant for Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. When the republic was proclaimed in 1870 he enlisted in the Foreign Legion, resuming his studies when the siege was over. In 1872 he removed to New York and sat up a studio. Here he was elected a member of the Society of American Artists in 1877, and an associate of the National Academy in 1888. After meeting with little commercial success, however, he returned to live at his father’s farm in Vermont, where he also did work for manufacturers of silver and plated ware. Towards the end of his life his sculptures became known to a wider audience.
He is credited for having brought the French Beaux Arts style to the United States, and popularizing the bas relief through numerous portraits in this style. Among his best known works are:
- "May" (1872)
- "Edwin Forrest" (medallion, 1876)
- “Rutherford B. Hayes” (bust, 1876)
- "Twilight " (1878)
- "Dancing Nymph" (1879)
- “Gov. William A. Buckingham” (statue, 1883)
- “William Lloyd Garrison” (statue, 1885)
- “The Reverend William F. Morgan, D. D.” (bust, 1887)
- Fountain for Portland, Oregon (1888)
- "Diana" (1888)
- Bronze doors at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (unfinished at his death)
Warner’s great-grand uncle was the Revolutionary leader Seth Warner.
