William Marks Simpson

Pencil sketch of Simpson by Duncan McPhee, 1943–44

The Guard Tree Memorial on the Parade Ground of the Virginia Military Institute, designed by William Marks Simpson, VMI Class of 1924.

Guard Tree Medallion on the Guard Tree Memorial, designed by William Marks Simpson, VMI Class of 1924.

William Marks Simpson was an American sculptor and teacher.[1] He was hired by the United States Bureau of the Mint to design some of the commemorative coins including the Battle of Antietam half dollar, Roanoke Island, North Carolina, half dollar and Norfolk, Virginia, Bicentennial half dollar.[2][3] He also designed the Allied war memorial Guadalcanal.[4]

Biography

Pencil sketch of Simpson in 1944

William Marks Simpson was born in 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the Virginia Military Institute in 1924. He graduated from the Rinehart School of Sculpture, Maryland Institute of Art, where he later became its director. He was also a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome.[2][5]

He married Marjorie Emory Simpson, a graduate of the Rinehart School of Sculpture, with her, in 1936, he designed the Norfolk, Virginia, Bicentennial half dollar.[6][7][8]

In 1930 he was a recipient of the Prix de Rome.[9]

During World War II Simpson volunteered for service and served with the Army in the Pacific from 1942 until 1946. While in the service he designed two decorative grille-works for the entrance at the Army headquarters building at Honolulu and at Guadalcanal American Memorial. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for his designs.[10]

He taught at the Virginia Military Institute from 1953-1956.

William Marks Simpson died on October 22, 1958.

References

1. Alexandridis, Annetta (2022). Destroy the Copy – Plaster Cast Collections in the 19th–20th Centuries: Demolition, Defacement, Disposal in Europe and Beyond. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. N.A. ISBN 978-3-110-75799-6. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
2. Heuvel, Sean M. (2011). Life After J.E.B. Stuart: The Memoirs of His Granddaughter, Marrow Stuart Smith. Government Institutes. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-761-85464-7. Retrieved April 27, 2023. William Marks Simpson (b. 1903) was a noted sculptor who did engraving work for the United States Mint
3. Downing, Sarah (February 25, 2019). Hidden History of the Outer Banks. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. N.A. ISBN 978-1-614-23947-5. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
4. "William Marks Simpson". archives.govt.nz. Archives New Zealand. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
5. Clarke, Carl Dame (1946). Molding and Casting for Moulage Workers, Sculptors, Artists, Physicians, Dentists, Criminologists, Craftsmen, Pattern Makers and Architectural Modelers. Standard Arts Press. p. vii. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
6. Yeoman, R. S. (2005). A Guide Book of United States Coins 2006. Atlanta, Georgia: Whitman Publishing LLC. p. 285. ISBN 978-1-626-19703-9. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
7. Downing, Sarah (2015). On This Day in Norfolk, Virginia History. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-626-19703-9. Retrieved April 27, 2023. The Seventy-fifth Congress authorized the minting of a silver half-dollar to mark both the 300th anniversary of the Norfolk land grant as well as the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Borough of Norfolk [...] The half-dollar was designed by artist William Marks Simpson.
8. Yeoman, Richard S (1976). A Guide Book of United States Coins. Western Publishing Company. p. 204. William Marks Simpson and his wife, Marjorie Emory Simpson, designed the piece
9. Parramore, Thomas C. (2000). Norfolk: The First Four Centuries. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. p. 325. ISBN 978-0-813-91988-1. Retrieved April 27, 2023. Sculptor William Marks Simpson Jr., a Norfolk native, was in 1930 awarded the Prix de Rome, one of the most coveted prizes in the plastic arts.
10. "The V.M.I. Cadet". VMI Archives Digital Collection. October 24, 1958.