The National Sculpture Society is delighted to announce that distinguished sculptor Edward J. Fraughton was awarded the NSS Affiliated Sculptor Residency at Chesterwood this year. The residency is an artist-in-residence program between National Sculpture Society (NSS) and Chesterwood, located in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

A resident of Utah, Fraughton will live and work on Chesterwood’s campus for four weeks, from June 5-30, 2023. While he is working in the Morris Studio, Fraughton will be accessible to visitors on most days throughout the month. An artist’s talk that is open to the public will take place on Sunday, June 25th.

With over 60 years of experience, Mr. Fraughton is a living link to some of the great American sculptors of our past, and as a longtime teacher and mentor, a bridge to sculptors of the future. Upon being awarded the residency, Fraughton stated, “Civilizations are measured by the quality of art they leave behind. In my mind, the works of Daniel Chester French rank among the finest, most inspirational examples of sculpture created in human history. This year’s invitation to live and work under the master’s shadow at Chesterwood is by far the finest honor I have ever received, and for that opportunity, I am extremely thankful.”

Fraughton is a founding member of the National Academy of Western Art and a longtime member of the National Sculpture Society. He was elected as a Sculptor Member in 1973 and advanced to Fellow in 1977. In 2018, the NSS Board of Directors elected Fraughton as a Member Emeritus, in recognition of services which, in their estimation, merited this distinction.

Applications for the Residency were accepted from sculptors nationwide and reviewed by a jury of three that included two NSS Fellows – Dan Ostermiller and Gwen Marcus, and curator Margaret Cherin, who is also the Interim Director at Chesterwood.

The co-sponsor of the residency, Chesterwood, is a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the former summer home, studio, and gardens of America’s foremost sculptor of public monuments, Daniel Chester French (1850 – 1931). French is best known for his sculptures of the Minute Man (1871 – 75) and the seated figure of Abraham Lincoln (1911 – 22) for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Situated on 122 acres in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Chesterwood is recognized as both a National Historic Landmark and a Massachusetts Historic Landmark. French was a founding member of NSS.