Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Frank Vittor Italian/American Sculptor Mother and Child Bronze, 1915

About the Item

Frank Vittor (1888-1966) important bronze of mother and child. Signed by the artist “F. Vittor” and dated 1915. Also bears the foundry mark. Measures 12 1/2"h x 12 ½”w x 9"long. Bronze rests on a 1 ½ inch marble plinth. Artist born in Italy, studied with Rodin. The foundry is the National Art bronze works. The bronze was converted to a lamp at one point, and still bears a threaded tube projecting from the lower base approximately ½ inch. Frank Vittor (January, 6, 1888 - January 24, 1968) was an Italian immigrant to the United States who became famous as a sculptor. Vittor was born in Mozzato, Como, a suburb of Milan, Italy. He studied art in Milan at the Academy of Beres and then traveled to Paris, France to study under Auguste Rodin. When Vittor was 18, in 1906, U.S. architect Stanford White brought Vittor to New York to work on his staff. White, who had designed Madison Square Garden II, was murdered at a performance at The Garden two weeks after Vittor arrived. The youth, having little money and knowing very limited English, decided to stay in America and soon opened an art studio. He met his future wife, Ade Mae Humphreys, a resident of Pittsburgh, and made the move to her home town. Aviator Charles Lindbergh's first solo trans-Atlantic 3,600-mile (5,800 km) flight between Long Island, New York and Paris, France was immortalized in bronze by Vittor with a 50-foot-tall (15 m) sculpture showing a winged youth spanning the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. Congress approved the expenditure in 1928, and the work was completed in 1929. Perhaps no work by Vittor created as much controversy and media coverage as did his nude statue of Henrietta Leaver, Miss America 1935. Though Leaver posed for Vittor, she did so in a bathing suit, accompanied by her grandmother. Upon first viewing the life-size 5-foot 5-inch plaster statue Leaver was shocked that it was a nude and demanded her representation be draped or veiled. Vittor did not agree and called in art experts to judge the work and all agreed it should stay as it had been created. Leaver did not back down and demanded people her own age review The American Venus, as it had originally been called. Unfortunately for Leaver her 60 peers, many of whom were art students, agreed it should remain unveiled. Though the strong disagreement between the two eventually did subside, Leaver, Vittor and the statue resurfaced five decades later in recaps of controversial Miss America mishaps. Baseball player Honus Wagner, one of the first five players inducted into the Hall of Fame, was memorialized by Vittor in a 17-foot-tall (5.2 m) bronze statue, originally on display near the Pittsburgh Pirates Forbes Field. It was moved to Three Rivers Stadium and, when that stadium was imploded in 1971, the statue was relocated to PNC Park.[6] In 1958, one of Vittor's greatest works, a 50-foot-tall (15 m) granite base and bronze statue of Christopher Columbus, was unveiled in Pittsburgh's Schenley Park. Shortly after the statue was placed, the bronze plaque at the base was stolen by vandals. The Sons of Columbus USA desire to replace the plaque with the original wording; however, there exists no record of what Vittor had written regarding Columbus. Charles Lindbergh was the recipient of a second work of art created by Vittor. The artist and sculptor designed a commemorative stamp picturing the pilot and his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis. Walter F. Brown, the U.S. Postmaster General, authorized a 175th anniversary commemorative "Battle of Braddock" 2-cent stamp to be designed by Vittor. The artwork he created featured a likeness of Colonel George Washington with the inscription "Battle of Braddock's Field, 1755-1930. In 1936 the U.S. Congress authorized minting a half-dollar coin to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the American Civil War. Vittor was the person selected to design the coin. The obverse depicts the profile of two soldiers, one from the North and one from the South and the reverse holds a symbol of the battle placed between the combatant's shields. The coins were distributed through the Pennsylvania State Commission for Gettysburg. Throughout Pittsburgh and the surrounding communities there exist more than 50 statues and fountains, as well as numerous other works, including a dozen historical panels on County bridges, and World War I memorials in at least five different cities. The artist sculpted numerous busts, including United States presidents Calvin Coolidge, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Vittor also created a 10-foot (3.0 m) bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson, which is located at Jefferson Memorial Park. For several years Vittor was an instructor of art and sculpture at the Carnegie Institute and the Carnegie Institute of Technology. The artist founded the Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors, and he also sat on the city's planning commission. During Columbus Day celebrations held in 1988, Vittor was honored with a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker, which stands near his work of Columbus.
  • Creator:
    Frank Vittor (Sculptor)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12.5 in (31.75 cm)Width: 12.5 in (31.75 cm)Depth: 9 in (22.86 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1915
  • Condition:
    In excellent condition with a wonderful rich patina.
  • Seller Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: F21661stDibs: LU1875318848182
More From This SellerView All
  • Bernhard Sopher California Artist Terracotta Sculpture, Mother and Child
    By Bernhard Sopher
    Located in Phoenix, AZ
    Terracotta sculpture by Bernhard Sopher (Syrian/American 1877-1949). Clay figure of mother and child. Signed on the lower back: B. Sopher. Measures: 7 1/2" H x 7" W x 5" L. In exce...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century American Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Terracotta

  • Allan Houser Native American Bronze Modernist Sculpture - "Waiting"
    By Allan Houser
    Located in Phoenix, AZ
    Allan Houser Native American Bronze Modernist Sculpture created 1978. Beautiful, large Allan Houser bronze - female figure titled "Waiting." T...
    Category

    Vintage 1970s Modern Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Allan Houser Native American Modernist Bronze Sculpture, 1989, "Watching"
    By Allan Houser
    Located in Phoenix, AZ
    Beautiful, large Allan Houser bronze titled "Watching." The piece is signed "Allan Houser" and numbered 11 of the edition of 12. The bronze measures 23"...
    Category

    Late 20th Century Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Bruno Zach Deco Bronze Sculpture, 1925, Native American Subject
    By Bruno Zach
    Located in Phoenix, AZ
    Beautifully cast deco Austrian bronze titled: “Indian Brave on Charging Horse.” Sitz on a marble plinth. The figure has a cold painted buckskin colored shirt and pant. Signed on base “B. Zach Argentor Wien...
    Category

    Early 20th Century Austrian Modern Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Robert Garret Thew American Sculptor Rare Art Deco Bronze Cigar Stand, Penguin
    By Robert Garret Thew
    Located in Phoenix, AZ
    Fabulous deco penguin design- bronze cigar stand by Connecticut sculptor Robert Garret Thew, (1892-1964). Signed on the base "G.Thew" and dated 1929. In e...
    Category

    Early 20th Century American Art Deco Tobacco Accessories

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Warren Wheelock Bronze Sculpture, circa 1930s, Boy and Rabbit
    By Warren Wheelock
    Located in Phoenix, AZ
    Excellent bronze of boy and rabbit measuring 15 1/4"H x 5 1/2"W x 5"L. By Massachusetts/New Mexico/New York artist Warren Wheelock (1880-1960). The work has a dark, rich patina and was created circa 1930s. A sculpture by Wheelock is in the collection of the Smithsonian Art Museum. He also had a work that was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics. This piece is in perfect condition with no flaws. Born in Sutton, Massachusetts, Warren Wheelock (1880-1960) became a painter, sculptor, illustrator, teacher and writer. He was known for his direct carving of geometric shapes to create figures that were nonobjective, and he also did representational heroic portraits. Exhibition venues include the Corcoran Biennial, the Woodstock Art Association, and the American Abstract Artists. He had a strong connection to the mountains of western North Carolina as well as to Woodstock, New York, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. During his life he was well-enough known and respected to be referenced in articles in Life Magazine, Time Magazine, and the New York Times. A heroic bronze by Wheelock of Baron von Steuben is in Philadelphia. He did WPA work...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

You May Also Like
  • Bronze Sculpture "Mother and Child" Baboons
    By Blanca Will
    Located in Rochester, NY
    "Mother and Child" an impressionist bronze sculpture of baboons by sculptor Blanca Will, American, 1881-1978, dated 1912. Works by Will are rare. Blanca Will Exhibited at the Nation...
    Category

    Early 20th Century American Modern Animal Sculptures

    Materials

    Metal, Bronze

  • Anne Marie Paul Bronze Mother and Child
    Located in Palm Springs, CA
    A large and quite lovely bronze by the noted French artist Anne Marie Paul (1949-2005). This piece is signed AM Paul and numbered 5/99 with a foundry m...
    Category

    20th Century French Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Chaim Gross "Mother's Pride" Figurative Bronze Sculpture, Mother and Child
    By Chaim Gross
    Located in Norwalk, CT
    "Mother's Pride", 1976. Bronze on wood base. Signed on the bottom of the bronze base. Chaim Gross, JM, Foundry Josel Meisner & Co., Plainview, N.Y., edition 44/47.
    Category

    Vintage 1970s American Expressionist Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Mother and Child Bronze Sculpture by M. Holmes
    Located in Cathedral City, CA
    Solid bronze green patina sculpture of mother and child sign and number 1/10 by M Holmes.
    Category

    20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Cast Patinated Bronze of Mother and Child
    Located in Montreal, QC
    Cast patinated bronze of mother and child. Signature ineligible.
    Category

    Vintage 1970s Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Native American Mother and Child Painted Ceramic Sculpture
    Located in San Francisco, CA
    Native American mother and child painted ceramic sculpture by Manuel Felguerez.
    Category

    20th Century North American Native American Figurative Sculptures

    Materials

    Ceramic

Recently Viewed

View All