biography of William Randolph BARBEE (1818-1868)

Birth place: near Luray, VA

Death place: Barbee Bower," near Luray"

Addresses: Washington DC, 1860

Profession: Sculptor

Studied: With Joel Tanner Hart, Hiram Powers, Italy

Exhibited: PAFA, 1859-60 (plaster bust of Speaker Orr); his The Coquette" and "The Fisher Girl," were exhibited in Richmond, VA; Baltimore, MD; and New York in 1858 and 1859. "

Member: Washington AA

Comments: Studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1843. He practiced law for the next ten years, finally giving it up to pursue his interest in sculpture. He spent two years in Italy, working with Joel Tanner Hart and Hiram Powers, emulating them in his adoption of the neoclassical style. He failed to secure a commission for work on the U.S. Capitol in 1857, but later did win official patronage and had a studio in the Capitol before and after the Civil War. His son, Herbert Barbee (b.1848) was also a sculptor.

Sources: G&W; Wayland, Shenandoah County, 524-25, 582-83; Fairman, Art and Artists, 164-165; Gardner, Yankee Stonecutters, 61; Rutledge, PA; Richmond Enquirer, Oct. 1-12, 1858, June 19, 1868 (obit.); Mayo cites Smithsonian Morgue; Thieme-Becker. Mallet and Smith erroneously give 1868 as Barbee's year of birth. See also McMahan, Artists of Washington, D.C., 13.