Fraser produced the iconic sculpture, End of the Trail (0827.146), simultaneously at the Gorham foundry by the “plaster-mold” technique and at the Roman Bronze Works by lost wax in the late teens and twenties. Fraser’s records suggest that Gorham cast five in one size in the first year of production. This series code QAZA (look for it on the base) was first assigned March 6, 1918, and all subsequent casts were so marked. Fraser earned a 33 1/3 % commission ($200) on the wholesale price of $600 for each sale in Gorham’s New York sales gallery with the remainder representing the production cost. In 1925 the sculpture was selling in their sales gallery for $1200 retail. In contrast Roman Bronze Works’ cost for the production of their large size bronze exhibited nearby was $280. The price difference was in part due to the use of less bronze.
From the exhibition:Frontier to Foundry: the Making of Small Bronze Sculpture in the Gilcrease Collection, December 2014 - March 2015.Ann Boulton Young, Associate Conservator for the Gilcrease Museum, 2014.
Role(s):
Artist
Names (all):
Fraser, James Earle
Birth Date:
1876
Death Date:
1953
Nationalities:
American (North American)
Roles:
American medalist and sculptor, 1876-1953
Gender:
male
Events:
active (professional function)
Note:
Comment on works: sculptor; medalist
Related People:
Bufano, Beniamino, teacher of - person Italian sculptor, 1898-1970, active in the United States
Hafner, Charles, teacher of - person American sculptor, painter, and teacher, born 1888
Hartley, Joan, teacher of - person American sculptor, 1892-1984
Whitney, Gertrude Vanderbilt, teacher of - person American sculptor and patron, 1875-1942
Bock, Richard Walter, student of - person American sculptor, 1865-1949
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, student of - person American sculptor, 1848-1907
