author
Edward Augustus Brackett
1818–1908
A self-taught sculptor who also wrote books and cared deeply about the natural world, he led a remarkably varied life. His story stretches from carving portrait busts in the 1800s to writing on poetry, fish culture, and everyday observation.
1 Audiobook
Materialized apparitions : if not beings from another life, what are they
by Edward Augustus Brackett
About the author
Born in Vassalboro, Maine, in 1818, Edward Augustus Brackett became a self-taught American sculptor, author, and conservationist. He moved with his family to Cincinnati in 1837, began working as a sculptor there, and later built a long career in the Boston area.
Brackett is best remembered as a portrait sculptor, with busts of notable nineteenth-century figures including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and John Brown. His life reached far beyond the studio, though: sources describe him as an abolitionist and a man of wide-ranging interests whose work and friendships connected him to the reform and cultural circles of his time.
He also wrote books, including poetry and practical nonfiction, which helps explain why he appears in both art history and library records. That mix of visual art, writing, and public-minded curiosity makes him an especially interesting nineteenth-century figure.