Background
Charles Cary Rumsey was born in Buffalo, N. Y. , the son of Laurence Dana and Jennie (Cary) Rumsey. A maternal uncle, Seward Cary, had a local reputation as a sculptor, but Charles's father achieved prosperity in tanning and railroads.
Charles Cary Rumsey was born in Buffalo, N. Y. , the son of Laurence Dana and Jennie (Cary) Rumsey. A maternal uncle, Seward Cary, had a local reputation as a sculptor, but Charles's father achieved prosperity in tanning and railroads.
The boy's preliminary education was received at the Nichols School, Buffalo. He early began to develop what later became his two major interests--indicated by his exhibition of a sculptured figure at thirteen and by his friendship with Devereux Milburn, the poloist. Between 1893 and 1895 Rumsey resided in Paris and received instruction from Paul Bartlett. Later he entered Harvard University, from which he graduated in 1902, having in the meantime continued his training in sculpture at Boston under Bela Lyon Pratt. Between 1902 and 1906 he was again in Paris. During this period, while he was enrolled at the Julian and Colarossi academies, Emmanuel Fremiet became his chief advisor.
In 1906 Rumsey returned to America and from this time until his death, resulting from an automobile accident, he practised his profession in New York and vicinity. Always enthusiastically interested in amateur athletics and at one time the amateur boxing champion of France, for years he devoted his leisure time to polo.
From 1913 he was a member of every United States polo team to compete in international cup matches, and in 1921 was classed as an eight-goal man, only two below the highest rating in the modern game. At the time of his death he was competing in the preliminaries for the international matches of that year. During the World War he attained the rank of captain of cavalry.
Rumsey's most certain fame as a sculptor rests on his bronzes depicting polo ponies and their riders. In this particular field he unconsciously achieved masterpieces. His patrons for such figures included H. P. Whitney, August Belmont, Thomas Hitchcock, Jr. , and J. E. Madden. For the last named he modeled "Nancy Hanks, " set up in the equine cemetery at Lexington, Ky. In the other phases of his sculpture Rumsey's work is marked by the zeal of the experimenter and the ability to find inspiration from outstanding sculptors of animals, especially, perhaps, from Barye and even Myron. His heroic figures include the "Dying Indian" given to the Brooklyn Museum, the "Centaur, " the "Bull, " and "Victory. " The last of these marks the war memorial erected in Brooklyn for Brownsville and vicinity, from which district Rumsey enlisted.
As examples of his decorative and experimental works may be mentioned the "Buffalo Hunt, " a frieze designed to decorate the end of the Manhattan Bridge, the frieze for three sides of the stadium in Rice Memorial Playground, Pelham Park, N. Y. , and, in colored cement, the "Pagan, " the central figure in the courtyard of his studio at Wheatley Hills, Long Island. Commissions for fountain figures were receiving attention from the sculptor at the time of his death. An important exhibit of Rumsey's works was held in 1917 at the Sculptor's Gallery in New York City, when the critical public had its first opportunity to form an opinion of his growing facility.
Five years after his death, the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts held a retrospective exhibition in Paris, at which some ninety-four examples of his compositions in bronze and colored cement were shown. In 1930 Rumsey was included in the exhibition of works by current American sculptors at the Brooklyn Museum. To his friends his vitality and versatility were constant sources of amazement. His supple vigor and recklessness as rider added to his personal charms. As a sculptor he infused his own love of life and movement into his compositions, attaining a rhythm and dynamic power which gave them individuality in spite of the evident influences of Rodin, Bourdelle, and Maillol.
Rumsey was one of the most notable sculptors working in the Beaux-Arts tradition. His most renowned work was the "Buffalo Hunt Frieze" executed in 1916 for the Manhattan Bridge in New York City. But the flattened and simplified figures for the Brownsville Memorial in Brooklyn (1921) were his most adventurous works into "modernism. " He came close to an Art Deco style in these powerful bulky figures. His monumental work, the equestrian "Pizarro, " was awarded a medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915.
Rumsey married Mary Harriman, the daughter of Edward H. Harriman in May 26, 1910. They had three children.
