Early Years
He was born in Urbana, Ohio, a city that had been founded by his grandfather Col. William Ward, and went to live with his sister in Brooklyn, New York, where he trained under the well-established sculptor Henry Kirke Brown, who carved "J.Q.A. Ward, asst." on his equestrian monument of George Washington in Union Square. His younger brother was the artist, Edgar Melville Ward. Ward went to Washington in 1857, where he made a name with portrait busts of men in public life. In 1861 he worked for the Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, providing models for decorative objects including gilt-bronze sword hilts for the Union Army. Ames also was one of the largest brass, bronze and iron foundries in the US.
Ward set up a studio in New York City in 1861 and was elected to the National Academy of Design the following year; he was its president from 1874. In 1882 a new New York studio on 52nd Street Street was designed for him by his friend, Richard Morris Hunt who was to collaborate with him on many projects over the years.
Ward was married three times.
Read more about this topic: John Quincy Adams Ward
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