Biography
He was born in Preston County, Virginia (now West Virginia), and taught himself to sculpt. After the Civil War, in which he served in the Confederate army, he opened a studio in New York City and became a well known as a sculptor, especially of memorial pieces.
In 1878 he become an associate of the National Academy of Design. George Washington was a favorite subject of his, and he published a series of papers on Washington portraits.
Read more about this topic: William Rudolf O'Donovan
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)