Artist

William Rudolf O’Donovan

born Preston County, VA 1844-died New York City 1920
Media - odonovan_william.jpg - 90103
Courtesy William Page and Page family papers, 1828-1942. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Also known as
  • William Rudolph O'Donovan
  • W. R. O'Donovan
  • William O'Donovan
Born
Preston County, Virginia, United States
Died
New York, New York, United States
Nationalities
  • American
Biography

William Rudolf O’Donovan had no technical art training, apart from a brief apprenticeship with a marble cutter in Greene County, Pennsylvania. After serving in the Confederate army during the Civil War, he established a studio in New York and began work as a professional sculptor. He created many portraits and memorials, and was a founder of the Tile Club, a group of artists who met regularly to create handmade ceramic tiles and to offer one another support, inspiration, and camaraderie.