J. (Joseph) Edgar Stouffer (abt. 1882 or 1883 - July 26, 1934) - "An Interrupted Wooing"

As soon as I saw this incredible antique bronze come up for auction, I knew I had to have it. It was a close thing, money-wise, but I managed to win it without breaking myself back down to abject poverty. I couldn't be more thrilled, as I now own a piece of fine art that I consider to be not only very beautiful, but also historically important. I've been a fan of high fantasy and fantastical art since I was a child. While it does not fit in with the rest of my collection as it stands, it certainly fits within my aesthetic.

Joseph Edgar Stouffer was born sometime in 1882 or 1883 in Baltimore, Maryland, son of Mr. Daniel Stouffer (merchant, born 1833 New Windsor, MD) and Henrietta E. (Jones) Stouffer (born 1835 Libertytown, MD, married 1861). During the Civil War, their house in New Windsor MD was used as the headquarters of Confederate General Bradley T. Johnson, who had familial ties to Henrietta Stouffer. In 1873 Daniel Stouffer sold his New Windsor house and moved first to Baltimore, then Frederick, MD. J. Edgar was raised and educated in Frederick Maryland. His first job was as a "Special Delivery Boy" for the local post office, and by 1903 he was working in Baltimore as a bookkeeper. From a young age his sculpting abilities were noted. He was encouraged to submit his clay sculptures to the Rinehart School of Sculpture, a part of the Maryland Institute College of Art. He was accepted enthusiastically by Ephraim Keyser, the director of the school, as a student. In 1906 he graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) as a Rinehart Scholarship recipient and promptly went to France. This afforded him the chance to study and sculpt in Paris for five years at the Julian Academy (where he won a gold medal for his work) and exhibit in the Salons there, returning to the US in 1912 (he passed through Ellis Island, NY, leaving a record of his re-entry into the US - his age was listed as 30).  In 1912 his work was shown at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, and in 1913 he held an exhibition of his works where he sold nearly all of the clay sculptures he'd made in Paris, with the intention that they would be cast in bronze. The Baltimore Museum of Art bought several of them for their collections! According to Volume 11 of the Art Annual, published in 1914, Mr. Stouffer was a professional member of the prestigious (and now historic) Charcoal Club of Baltimore - look them up for an interesting read. His home and studio for many years were located in the heart of the city at 106 East Saratoga St., Baltimore, Maryland. Joseph Edgar Stouffer died on July 26, 1934 at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland of pneumonia, at the reported age of 50. He was one of six children but was survived only by his sister and more distant relatives in Carroll County, MD. According to his obituary in the New York Times, July 28, 1934, he was largely inspired by his daily walks through Druid Hill Park and his study of the animals there, and that he rarely sought to promote or sell his sculptural works. The obituary also states that he won the Rinehart Scholarship in 1907 at the age of 26, but these numbers don't quite gel with the other dates I have for him. Given the three listed dates and ages, I can only estimate his year of birth.

J. Edgar Stouffer is primarily known for sculpting mythological and pure fantasy works in the classic naturalistic style. He was quite ahead of his time, and was quite possibly the first modern sculptor to do so. While mythological works were not common during La Belle Époque, works of high fantasy were virtually non-existent, especially sculptures. In my opinion, this makes him extremely important in the history of the development of fantasy art.

This work was one of those Paris sculptures. This bronze was cast by the Roman Bronze Works (RBW) in New York in about 1913 (research is ongoing, but I'm hopeful of pinpointing the exact date soon). RBW was Louis Comfort Tiffany's foundry of choice and was the first foundry in the US to cast bronze using the "cire perdu" or "lost wax" technique. It was THE pre-eminent bronze foundry for sculptors in the US and they cast many very, very famous works. I have not found any numbers on the piece (usually Roman Bronze Works numbered the castings sequentially, but only rarely in a closed edition - artists back then typically sold as many as they could and ordered them from the foundry as needed), so it may well be unique. Stouffer's sculptures are quite rare, and given how he sold them (as clay models to be cast in bronze versus selling the bronze copies), it is highly likely that this is the only one of its kind. It is quite small, fitting comfortably in the palm of the hand, but is very detailed. There is a fair bit of verdigris present and it could use a good cleaning, which it will receive soon.

Again, research is ongoing. The Amon Carter Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas holds the extant records of the Roman Bronze Works, which should give me a production date and information on the total made. The paperwork and correspondence of the Rinehart Scholars still exists, including many letters from Stouffer and photographs of his sculptures (now available for viewing on microfiche via inter-library loan). MICA retains records relating to his attendance, graduation and scholarship studies. There's a lot out there, but it will require a trip to Baltimore to access most of it.

Edit: I have been in contact with Mr. Jonathan Frembling, the Archivist and Reference Services Manager at the Amon Carter Museum. Mr. Frembling is the resident expert on the records of the Roman Bronze Works that the museum holds in its collections. The museum has posted online a very handy reference guide to the artists and customers for which it has records, including J. Edgar Stouffer. Mr. Frembling was kind enough to email me PDF copies of the two pages in the ledgers that reference Mr. Stouffer - sadly the ledgers are the only early records that survived a fire at the foundry in the 1920's. What the pages revealed was that in 1913, 1915, 1916 and 1917 Mr. Stouffer had bronzes cast by the foundry. Which sculptures they were specifically and how many of each were cast was not noted in the ledgers and that information has been lost to time. Given the disparity in prices and knowing that the Paris sculptures were all of "sketch" size, I can only assume that the higher priced entries reflect multiple castings of one sculpture ordered at the same time. My guess is that my bronze is from the earliest order, as this was by far the largest order from this artist. But these are just assumptions and guesses. Many thanks to Mr. Frembling for his kind help with my research!

I have found many auction sale records and copyright registration records for at least a dozen different sculptures by this artist and several copies of a few of these that have sold. More on these at a later time...


So I present to you, "An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer. This bronze depicts an amorous couple who are disturbed in their activities by a dragon that looms over them!


Here are the pics. It looks like the verdigris may have been intentional. I'll leave that open for discussion.

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, left

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, back

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, right

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, front close-up

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, top

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, dragon's face

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, couple detail

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, couple detail right

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, couple detail left

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, title

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, foundry mark

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, signature

"An Interrupted Wooing" by J. Edgar Stouffer, ca. 1913, bronze, Roman Bronze Works, underside