Cyrus Farnum

Object NamePortrait Plaque

Artist / Maker Christian Petersen (Danish - American, 1885 - 1961)

Date1927

OriginUSA

MediumBronze

Dimensions12 3/4 x 10 1/2 x 1/2 in. (32.4 x 26.7 x 1.3 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Joy Munn. In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM99.296

Status

Not on view

Collections

Label TextHerbert Cyrus Farnum (September 19, 1866 – February 15, 1926) was an American artist born in Glocester, Rhode Island. "Cy" Farnum, as he was more generally known, was a son of Cyrus A. and Mary (Eddy) Farnum. As a boy he gave evidence of the great talent that he later developed as an artist. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design. H. Cyrus studied at the Academie Julian in Paris under Jean-Paul Laurens and (Benjamin) Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant where he won several awards for drawings. H. Cyrus belonged in the group of late 19th- and early 20th-century artists in Rhode Island, and for years his studio in Butler Exchange was an important art center in the city of Providence. After pursuing his art studies in Paris he spent many years in travel and study abroad, following in the footsteps of Marcus Waterman, also a noted RI artist, in Northern Africa, winning a wide reputation for his African subjects. He also painted a number of official portraits for city and state, some of which still hang in the RI state house and the city hall. In his later years he maintained his studio at his home on Fruit Hill section of Providence. He was stricken by a cerebral hemorrhage at home on February 15, 1926 and did not recover, leaving his 2nd wife Mabel (Carter) Farnum. He was a president of the Providence Water Color Club and member of the Providence Art Club.

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