The National Sculpture Society is delighted to announce that Evan L. Morse is the Walker Hancock Sculptor-in-Residence at Manship Artists Residency (MARs). The residency is an artist-in-residence program between the National Sculpture Society (NSS) and MARs, located in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

For two weeks, in June 2026, Morse will live and work at MARs, the former summer residence and studio of Paul Manship, one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century and past NSS President.

Morse earned an MFA in sculpture from Boston University and a BA from Wheaton College, MA. Following an influential semester abroad in Florence, he later returned to Italy to study in Carrara, practicing the traditional sculpture techniques of clay-modeling, plaster-casting, and stone-carving. Morse has completed stone-carving commissions for the New York State Capitol building, Iowa State University, Harvard University, and several marble monuments for the city of Rutland, VT. His sculptures have received recognition from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Morse is a two-time recipient of the Dexter Jones Award, presented by the National Sculpture Society for an ‘outstanding work of sculpture in bas-relief.’ Morse is an active member and instructor at the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center in West Rutland, VT.

The Manship Artists Residency is part of a vibrant community of artists that has long flourished in the Lanesville section of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Located north of Boston on Cape Ann, this region has historically been a mecca for artists. The idyllic 15-acre property boasts two pristine quarries, scenic vistas, rocky summits, and several acres of forested land. MARs promotes the creative process and the power of art by cultivating individual and collaborative creativity as a continuation of sculptor Paul Manship’s legacy, whose summer residence and studio serves as a permanent home for art-making and an international, interdisciplinary artist residency amid its magical natural setting.

The National Sculpture Society (NSS) promotes excellence in sculpture that is inspired by the natural world. Programs include Sculpture Quarterly magazine, scholarships, grants, exhibitions and competitions. These educational programs are just a few of the ways NSS serves as a link between the public, sculptors, educators, and collectors. For more than 120 years, our members have created, exhibited, collected and supported the evolving tradition in American sculpture.

The residency is named after the late Cape Ann sculptor and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts instructor Walker Hancock (1901-1998). Walker was a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society and was elected by his peers to an Honorary Fellow in 1992. Best known for the ethereal Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial located in Philadelphia’s Thirtieth Street railroad station, Hancock also served his country as an army officer and “Monuments Man,” responsible for the repatriation of stolen cultural treasures after World War II. One of Hancock’s last sculptures was a bust of W.E.B. Dubois for Harvard’s Memorial Hall.