page_title: Sally James Farnham
section_title: Career in sculpture
hierarchical_section_title: Sally James Farnham / Career in sculpture
caption_attribution_description: English: Sally (Sara) James Farnham sculpture, Defenders of the Flag, in Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York.
context_page_description: Sally James Farnham was an American sculptor born Ogdensburg, New York, on November 26, 1869, into a prominent local family.
context_section_description: The ensuing years saw Farnham produce a series of United States Civil War and cemetery monuments in New York and New Jersey . She received many small grants and commissions that would build her reputation as a sculptor over a very short period of time. In 1904 she won a commission to construct Spirit of Liberty, which she made in honor of her father and the men who gave their lives in the Civil War. By 1907, she was regarded as “one of the leading female sculptors working on a heroic scale in America” 
  In 1910, she was commissioned to create a frieze for the Pan American Union building in Washington D.C. This work, called the Frieze of Discoverers, contributed to her winning a commission from the government of Venezuela to execute the equestrian Simon Bolivar (1921). Originally cast in duplicate, one copy stands at the head of the Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Despite the complications of her divorce two years earlier, in 1916, Sally competed against twenty other sculptors to win this highly prized commission. At the time it was both the largest monument sculpted by a woman and the only equestrian monument of a man created by a female artist. It took five years to complete and earned her the Order of Bolivar (the greatest civilian honor given by the Venezuelan government).
  In the following decade Farnham produced a multitude of public monuments and memorials, as well as critically acclaimed portraits of influential individuals including the President of the United States Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, Theodore Roosevelt and Marshal Ferdinand Foch (commander of the Allied Powers in WWI).  Her work in portraiture soon became highly sought after and was defined by a highly developed naturalistic style that captured the essence of the subject in a visually masculine and positive manner. Farnham also sculpted busts of notable figures, including violinist Jascha Heifetz and silent film star Mary Pickford, and continued to create sculpture into her seventies.
  Her next important monument, Like Hell You Can! (1927) embodied her optimistic spirit in the form of a soldier standing tall, in confrontation with the unknown.
  In 1929, she entered into a contract with R.H. Macy and Co. (along with McMein and Fontanne) to create a line of shoes for women.
  Of all the monuments she created, Farnham regarded Pay Day (1930) as her best work. The sculpture of four cowboys on horseback, flailing their lassos and kicking up dirt was made in honor of her mentor Frederic Remington, who was a known sculptor of western themes. The energy of the composition contains qualities which she most enjoyed in sculptures and once again displays the optimism with which she led her life. She was particularly drawn to sculptures “that are full of force, feeling and emotional expression.” For her it was important “to believe the whole heart and soul of the artist is in his work. When he can make others believe that, he is a great artist.” 
  Sally Farnham died in New York City on April 28, 1943. She is buried in the All Saint's Episcopal Church Cemetery in Great Neck, New York. Her tombstone is inscribed, “A merry heart goes all the day,” a reflection of her unyielding optimism.
caption: Defenders of the Flag in Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY
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