Background
Bessie Stough was born near Wichita, Kansas in 1889 and spent most of her childhood on a farm, where her interest in animals originated.
Bessie Stough was born near Wichita, Kansas in 1889 and spent most of her childhood on a farm, where her interest in animals originated.
Here, she studied drawing under George Bridgman, at the Art Students League, and the Cooper Union. When she and her husband were transferred to Paris in 1926, she studied under Antoine Bourdelle, and later under the important animalier, Georges Hilbert.
She moved to New York in the early 1920s after marrying New York Times journalist Harold Callender. She also modeled from life. lieutenant was under Hilbert"s supervision that she began the stone carvings of animals she received the most acclaim foreign
Callender"s process began with observing animals in either the Jardin des Plantes or the London Zoo.
Then, she would produce sketches and plasticine studies of an animal, until the "spirit" of the creature was captured. After that, she began to carve, and could take up to a year refining a single piece.
Her sculpture was immediately recognized for its quality and was frequently exhibited at the Salon des Independants in Paris and the Royal Academy in London. She continued to work until a cancer operation prevented her from sculpting later in life.