Blanche Nevin

Blanche Nevin
Blanche Nevin
Born	1841 (1841) Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	1925 (1926)
Known for	Sculpture

Blanche Nevin (1841–1925) was an American artist and poet. She is considered America's first noteworthy woman sculptor, and is best known for her sculpture of Revolutionary War General Peter Muhlenberg in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection.^[1]

Peter Muhlenberg, in the National Statuary Hall Collection

She was born at Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Dr. John Williamson Nevin (1803–1886), a theologian, teacher, and minister, and Martha Jenkins. She moved with her family to Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1855, when her father became the president of Franklin & Marshall College.^[1] She studied art in Philadelphia, at the Royal Art Academy in Venice, Italy, and at Carrara, Italy. She also lived in China and Japan. She usually spent half her year at her home Windsor Forge Mansion and the other half abroad.^[2]

In 1889, she sculpted the statue of Peter Muhlenberg on commission from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the United States Capitol crypt. She also sculpted the bust of President Woodrow Wilson. She also sculpted "Lion in the Park" (1905) at Reservoir Park and the horse drinking fountain (1898) at the intersection of Columbia Avenue and West Orange Street in Lancaster. Her poems include: “Great-Grandma’s Looking-Glass” (1895), “One Usual Day” (1916), and “To My Door” (1921).^[1]

In 1899, she bought Windsor Forge Mansion in Caernarvon Township, Pennsylvania. The house once belonged to her grandfather Robert Jenkins (1769–1848), who was a congressman and ironmaster. She restored the mansion house and added a studio. In 1913, she deeded the property to her nephew John Nevin Sayre. The grounds have three sculptures executed by Nevin, and they are contributing objects to the national historic district.^[2]

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