William Couper

American sculptor, 1853–1942

BiographyWilliam Couper was best known for his marble sculptures of angels and allegorical figures, like his Flora displayed at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. He also regularly produced portrait busts and portraits in relief.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Couper studied in Munich before moving to Florence, where he studied with Thomas Ball and wed Ball's daughter, Eliza, in 1878. Couper eventually moved back to the United States in 1897, settling in Montclair, New Jersey, where he built a neoclassical villa Poggioridente. He also shared a studio with Thomas Ball in New York. Couper produced many public monuments, including the Confederate Monument in Norfolk and busts of scientists for the American Museum of Natural History in New York. In 1913 Couper retired from sculpting and took up painting seascapes.

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