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 Theatre 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

1. Biographical thumbnail, Smithsonian Institution, retrieved October 2, 2012
2. Oral history interview with James Herbert Fitzgerald and Margaret Tomkins, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, October 27, 1965, retrieved October 1, 2012
3. Historic Sites of the Washington State and Territorial Library: 1853 to the present, Washington Secretary of State, retrieved October 1, 2012
4. Margret Tomkins & James Fitzgerald, Martin-Zambito Fine Art, archived from the original on September 4, 2012, retrieved October 1, 2012
5. "James FitzGerald, Seattle sculptor, dies". The Seattle Times. October 9, 1973. p. D14.
6. Farr, Sheila (March 22, 2002). "Outspoken Seattle painter Margaret Tomkins dies". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
7. 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
8. "James Fitzgerald", Pacific Coast Architecture Database, University of Washington, retrieved October 1, 2012
9. Woodridge, Sally B.; Roger Montgomery (1980). A Guide to Architecture in Washington State. University of Washington Press. p. 133. ISBN 0-295-95779-4.
10. Centennial Fountain (IAS WA000150), Smithsonian American Art Museum/Art inventories catalog
11. Fountain of the Northwest (IAS 75008690), Smithsonian American Art Museum/Art inventories catalog
12. "Final Scene", Princeton Alumni Weekly, September 14, 2011
13. Scudder Plaza Fountain (IAS NJ000204), Smithsonian American Art Museum/Art inventories catalog
14. "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.

External links

• Brief biography and example works Archived October 7, 2023, at the Wayback Machine