Works By Noted Religious Sculptor

 Added To Booth Library Collection

By Jan Howard

The C.H. Booth Library recently received two new additions to its collection of art by internationally known religious sculptor John Angel.

Two richly ornamental, sculptured pedestals by the renowned sculptor, most likely used to hold statues, were recently donated by resident Stanley King. They stand at opposite ends of the bookshelves that house art books from John Angel’s personal library, which were donated to the Booth Library several years ago.

The John Angel collection is located on the third floor of the Booth Library between the Special Collections and Quiet Study rooms.

Mr Angel was an internationally renowned sculptor who resided in Sandy Hook until his death on October 16, 1960, at the age of 78. In 1940, he purchased the old mill near Warner’s Pond on Old Mill Road. A former owner had converted the mill into a home in the late 1930s, and Mr Angel enlarged it with additions and improvements for his studio. The mill was used in the 1800s as a sawmill in the spring, cider mill in autumn, and a gristmill in the winter. In 1949, he constructed a new studio on the property, according to his obituary in the October 21, 1960 Newtown Bee.

Caroline Stokes, collections curator for the C.H. Booth Library, said, “John Angel was full of marvelous art technique. He was a sweet, quiet man.”

She said he was still creating late in his life and spent his last years doing commissions at the Episcopal Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York City. “He worked up to his death,” she said.

His work at St John the Divine and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Patrick in New York City brought him worldwide acclaim.

Mr Angel was responsible for all the sculpture for the North Tower Portal of St John the Divine, and the baldachin and the bronze doors of St Patrick’s. He created the statue of St John the Divine in the central portal and the life size marble statue of St Patrick.

He also created the Last Supper group in the Presbyterian Church in East Liberty, Penn., a crucifixion group in Firmin Desloge Hospital in St Louis, Mo., and a granite statue of Francis Vega at Vincennes, Ind. 

  He was noted as well for the pedestal under a statue of St Paul in St John the Divine, sculpture in the chapel at Princeton University, and statuary for the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. In 1960 he completed four heroic size statues of the Evangelists for the Cathedral of St Paul in St Paul, Minn.

Mr Angel was born in Newton Abbott, Devenshire, England, on November 1, 1881, son of Samuel and Hannah Maria (Bearse) Angel.

According to his obituary, as a boy he often walked through the cathedral at Exeter, England, and was entranced by the statuary he saw there. It was said that he decided at an early age to become an artist, particularly a sculptor.

He studied at Albert Memorial and Lambeth art schools in London and the Royal Academy School, where he was awarded the first of many silver medals for his work. Mr Angel was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by Columbia University in 1936.

He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy from 1917 to 1927 and designed and executed the World War I Memorials in Exeter, Rotherham, and Bridgewater, England. The War Memorial in Exeter, dedicated in the early 1920s, was the first to bring him national and international fame. Shortly after its completion, he was invited to the United States to execute the gothic sculpture at the Cathedral of St John the Divine.

He also completed eight statues in the baptistry of that cathedral that were donated by members of the Stuyvesant family. He was also noted for his statue of Peter Stuyvesant, an early administrator of New York for the Dutch.

On July 6, 1952, a memorial to Alexander Hamilton was dedicated in Lincoln Park, Chicago. The central figure of the memorial was a 13-foot statue of the Revolutionary hero created by Mr Angel, who was introduced from the speakers’ platform during the dedication along with former president Herbert Hoover and other dignitaries.

The statue, fashioned in bronze, was plated with 24-carat gold leaf. Though completed several years before, the statue had been kept in storage pending completion of the memorial, which had been delayed by World War II.

He also created several busts and statuettes that are included in various British collections, including the Institute of Fine Arts, Edinburgh, and the Albert Memorial Museum.

Mr Angel was a member of the National Academy of Design and a fellow of the National Sculpture Society.

He was said to be a charming and delightful member of the community, always patient with questions about his work and willing to give details of the sculpture and special commission of works of art that brought him fame around the world.

He was described as cheerful and extremely friendly, and enjoyed entertaining friends at his home.

He was married in 1914 to Elizabeth Day Seymour of New Haven, who died on January 5, 1942.

Rev Paul Cullens of the Newtown Congregational Church conducted his funeral service. He is buried in Berkshire Cemetery in Sandy Hook.

The C.H. Booth Library collection includes sculptures by Mr Angel, including one of Alexander Hamilton, another entitled “The Workman,” and two plaster of Paris friezes depicting biblical persons and animals.

According to Mrs Stokes, Mr Angel presented pieces of his work to a friend, Frank Johnson, who later donated them to the library.

“It’s because of Frank that we received Mr Angel’s entire art library,” Mrs Stokes said. “It was because of Frank Johnson’s friendship with him.”

Mr Johnson was a relative of Ezra Johnson, who wrote the first history of Newtown, and was a great force in organizing the local Historical Society, Mrs Stokes said. “He was very oriented to the history of his town.”

Mr Angel’s home in Sandy Hook was sold in 1961 to director/producer Elia Kazan, whose property adjoined the mill house property.