| James Earle Fraser and Laura Gardin Fraser were acclaimed and honored monumental and numismatic artists and designers. The records in the James Earle Fraser & Laura Gardin Fraser Studio Papers are those that were included in the acquisition of items from the Frasers’ Westport, Connecticut studio in 1968. The studio collection also included heroic-size plaster statues, plaster models of medals and coins, studio furniture, filing cabinets, artist tools, and books. The collection was acquired in order to re-create a studio as a memorial to the Frasers with the statue End of the Trail as its centerpiece. Other statuary includes Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Daniel Boone, John James Audubon, Abraham Lincoln, General Robert E. Lee, and General Stonewall Jackson. Below are just a few of the photographs and scanned sketches in the collection. Please also view the Guide to the James Earle Fraser & Laura Gardin Fraser Studio Papers. |
James Earle Fraser in his studio with a clay maquette of the End of the Trail sculpture, ca. 1910.
Three poses of Buzzie, the horse used as a model for End of the Trail, n.d.
James Earle Fraser poses next to a clay model of his Theodore Roosevelt bust, ca. 1921.
Fraser sketch, reverse side of the Indian Head nickel, ca. 1913.
Clay models of the obverse and reverse of the Indian Head nickel, sculpted by James Earle Fraser, ca. 1913.
Fraser sketch of one of his United States Supreme Court figures, ca. 1933.
Navy Cross medal, designed by James Earle Fraser, ca. 1942.
Letter to Fraser from boxer and film actor John Lester Johnson detailing his April, 1926 fight against Tony Fuente, 1926.
Laura Gardin Fraser works on the clay model for the Better Babies medal, created for Woman’s Home Companion magazine, ca. 1913.
Laura Gardin Fraser stands in the doorway of her studio, n.d.
Laura Gardin Fraser’s maquette of the bronze sculpture she created as a grave marker for Fair Play, the sire of Man O’ War, ca. 1930.
Large clay model mounted on board, reverse side of the Grosvenor Medal, created by Laura Gardin Fraser for the National Geographic Society, ca. 1949.
Laura Gardin Fraser works on General Stonewall Jackson sculpture, part of Lee-Jackson double equestrian statue for a Baltimore, Maryland park, ca. 1947.
Stereograph of Charles A. Lindbergh posing for the Congressional Medal made in his honor, someone (probably Ms. Fraser) holds a blanket as a backdrop, ca. 1928.
Model of Oklahoma Land Run bas-relief by Laura Gardin Fraser, designed for 50th Anniversary of Oklahoma statehood, ca. 1953.
Hands of James Earle Fraser and Laura Gardin Fraser working clay, n.d. |
