WHM- Exhibitions - BH Kinney

B.H. Kinney

B.H. Kinney (1821-1888) arrived in Worcester County in 1841 at the age of twenty, and soon was established as one of Worcester's foremost marble workers and one of her few sculptors and cameo cutters. The forty-seven years of Kinney's life and work in Worcester were marked by success and disappointment, while throughout they reflected his commitment, drive and increasing creative ability.

Kinney was one of a generation of American artists who captured prominent figures in medallions and busts of both marble and plaster.

Bust of Ethan Allen scuplted by Kinney

The famous and not-so-famous sought his creative genius to have their likeness carved into gold-mounted cameos.

Along with many other artists in the early part of the century, B.H. Kinney was drawn to sculpture while still earning his living as a craftsman. Self-taught in his native Vermont, with perhaps some subsequent study in Boston at the hands of established maters, Kinney is characteristic of the spirit of emerging nineteenth-century art.

Click on the photos to enlarge more examples of Kinney's work.