Ariadne, 1857
Marble
26 in H
Biography
Chauncey Bradley Ives was born on a farm in Hamden, Connecticut. He was an apprentice to a wood-carver, Rondolphus Northrop and might have had lessons from Hezekiah Augur, a sculptor in New Haven. In 1837, after ten years of wood carving, Ives moved to Boston, where he learned to model in clay and to carve marble. His busts, exhibited locally, attracted attention and won him commissions.
For the next few years Ives obtained numerous commissions in New England and New York, mainly for primarily male portraits. In 1844 Ives traveled to Italy with financial support from three patrons. He settled in Florence where he stayed for seven years and enrolled at the Accademia di Belle Arti. Ives continued to create portrait busts along with ideal works. His ideal works where likely influenced by Hiram Powers and Horatio Greenough who were also living in Florence at the time.
Ives moved to Rome in 1851 and while he made numerous trips to the Untied States throughout the remainder of his life, he resided in Rome until his death in 1894.
