Frances Rich

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Frances Rich (January 8, 1910 – October 14, 2007) was an American actress and sculptor.

She was the daughter of silent screen actress Irene Frances Luther Rich and salesman Elvo Elcourt Deffenbaugh, and the adopted daughter of Irene's second husband, Charles Rich.

Career

Acting

Frances Rich appeared in six films in the early 1930s: Unholy Love (1932), The Thirteenth Guest (1932), Officer Thirteen (1932), The Diamond Trail (1933), Zoo in Budapest (1933), and Pilgrimage (1933). She also appeared on Broadway in Brief Moment at the Belasco Theatre from November 1931 through February 1932.

Sculpting

Born in Spokane, Washington, Rich received a B.A. from Smith College in 1931. In 1933 she met sculptor, Malvina Hoffman, and studied with her in Paris for two years. Upon returning to America, she did intensive work at the Boston Museum School and established her own studio in New York City. Between 1937 and 1940 she was a resident student at Cranbrook Academy of Art. There she met sculptor Carl Milles, with whom she worked for the next eighteen years.

Her works include portrait busts at Smith College; the Army-Navy Nurse Monument in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.; a bronze pelican in front of Pelican Building, University of California, Berkeley; marble bust of Alice Stone Blackwell for the Boston Public Library; and portrait busts of Lotte Lehmann, Margaret Sanger, Diego Rivera, Katharine Hepburn, among others.

Rich was a Lieutenant Director in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 1942 to 1946 and Director of Public Relations at Smith College from 1947 to 1950.

Death

Rich died in Payson, Arizona on October 14, 2007, aged 97.

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Frances Luther Rich (Washington, 8 January 1910 - Arizona, 14 October 2007) was an American sculptor and actress. She was born the daughter of Elvo Elcourt Deffenbaugh (d. 1941) and noted silent film actress Irene Rich (1891-1988), but after her parents divorced, she was adopted by her stepfather, army officer Charles Henry Rich (major during the First World War and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel during the Second World War). She received her bachelor's degree in English literature from Smith College, Northampton, MA (1931). Soon thereafter she played a role in the following 6 films: Albert Ray's Unholy Love (1932); Albert Ray's The Thirteenth Guest (1932); George Melford's Officer Thirteen (1932); Harry L. Fraser's Diamond Trail (1933); Rowland V. Lee's Zoo in Budapest (1933); and John Ford's Pilgrimage (1933). She also appeared in Samuel Nathaniel Behrman's comedy Brief Moment (1931-1932) at the Belasco Theatre in Broadway, New York.

Rich's introduction to sculptress Malvina Hoffman (1885-1966) by John Ford in New York in 1933 was to change her life for good. Rich followed Hoffman to Paris, and studied stone-carving with her and fresco painting with Ángel Zárraga (1886-1946) between 1933 and 1935. Upon returning to America, she did intensive drawing work under Alexandre Iacovleff (1887-1938) at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, between 1935 and 1936, and established her own studio in Manhattan, New York. Between 1937 and 1940 she was a resident student at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where she met the sculptor Carl Milles (1875-1955), with whom she worked for the next 18 years.

During the Second World War, Frances Rich joined the United States Naval Reserve first as a Lieutenant Junior Grade. She served as Special Assistant to Captain Mildred McAfee Horton (1900-1994), director of Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, also known as WAVES. Stationed in naval establishments throughout the United States and abroad, she completed her service to her country reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander (1942-1946). Immediately following the War, Frances Rich was invited to return to her alma mater, Smith College, as a full professor and was also given the responsibilities of director of public relations (1947-1950).

In 1950 she made modelling and sculpture her exclusive occupation, working in clay and plaster, bronze and brass, marble and stone. Her work consists largely of portrait busts and religious figures, many of which are larger than life. Highlights of her work include the limestone Purdue Bas Reliefs (1938) above the Union Building entrance of Purdue University, Lafayette, IN; the monumental Army & Navy Nurse marble statue (1938) in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA; the plaster statue of Questing Madonna (1954) for Madonna Festival, Santa Barbara, CA; the bronze Christ Crucified (1954) for the Holy Trinity Church, Bremerton, WA; The Laughing Pelican (1958) in front of the Pelican Building at the University of California, Berkeley, CA; the terracotta statue of Katharine Hepburn as Cleopatra (1965) for The American Shakespeare Festival Theater, Stratford, CT; the marble bust of Suffragette, Alice Stone Blackwell (1961) at the Boston Public Library, Boston, MA; the bronze statue of Our Lady of Combermere (1960) for the Madonna House at Combermere, Ontario, Canada; the polychrome oval bas-relief of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom (1965) for Saint Cecilia Church, Stanwood, WA; the polychrome relief of Madonna and Child (1970) for Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Bremerton, WA; the bronze high-relief of Christ of the Sacred Heart (1972) for Saint Sebastian's Church, Los Angeles, CA; and portrait busts of great personalities that were her friends, such as painter Diego Rivera (1941); Smith President, Herbert Davis (1948); soprano Lotte Lehmann (1952); nurse Margaret Sanger (1957); composer Virgil Thomson (1961); producer Lawrence Langner (1963); and actress Katharine Hepburn (1959, 1960, 1961).

Notably, Rich is famed for her statues of Saint Francis of Assisi, an original free-standing type of remarkable grace. Highlights of this series include The Firestone Saint Francis (1951) for Saint Margaret's Episcopal Church, Palm Desert, CA; the Saint Francis (1952) for The de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA; The Henderson Saint Francis (1954) for Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA; The Geyman Saint Francis (1955) for Geyman Home, Montecito, CA; The Milles Saint Francis (1960) commissioned by Carl Milles for Millesgarden, Lidingo, Sweden, and The Mount Hymettus Saint Francis (1970) commissioned by The American College of Greece, Athens, Greece.

Rich travelled to many countries, including Canada, China, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and Turkey. She spent as much of her time as possible studying the art of diverse civilizations and cultures. Her work was exhibited in many parts of the world. She was featured in many publications and presented personal exhibitions in major art institutions, such as the Phoenix Center for the Arts, Phoenix, AZ (1954); Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA (1955); Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA (1955); Laguna Blanca School, Santa Barbara, CA (1955), and Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA (1969).

Frances Rich passed away due to a heart failure at home in Payson, Arizona, on 14 October 2007, aged 97. To the end of her life she maintained her interest and vitality in art, artists, and all things artistic.