Thomas was born to Thomas Ball, Sr. and Elizabeth Wyer Hall. His father was a house and sign painter, but sadly he died when Thomas was the age of twelve.
Thomas was an artist of many talents... musician, painter and sculptor. As a sculptor, his work has had a marked influence on monumental art in the United States.
His earliest work was a bust of Jenny Lind, whom he saw on her 1850 tour of the United States. Copies of his Lind work and his bust of Daniel Webster were very popular and sold widely.
Thomas married Ellen "Nelly" Wild on Oct. 10, 1854 in Boston. Nelly and Thomas had one child, Eliza Chickering Ball, born on May 26, 1857 in Boston. Eliza was later to marry sculptor William Couper in 1878.
After his marriage at age 35, Thomas went to Florence for study. Except for a period of work in Boston, in 1857–1865, he remained in Italy until 1897 as a member of an artistic colony that included Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Hiram Powers. The notables he met in Europe included Franz Liszt, whom he met at the Vatican in 1865, and of whom he produced a portrait bust.
When he returned, he lived in Montclair, New Jersey, while keeping a studio in New York City.
In 1880, Thomas Ball published an autobiographical book, "My Threescore Years and Ten", which he updated in 1890 as "My Four Score Years".
Thomas died at the age of 92, at the Montclair home of his daughter, Eliza Chickering Ball, and son-in-law, sculptor William Couper.
Thomas was an artist of many talents... musician, painter and sculptor. As a sculptor, his work has had a marked influence on monumental art in the United States.
His earliest work was a bust of Jenny Lind, whom he saw on her 1850 tour of the United States. Copies of his Lind work and his bust of Daniel Webster were very popular and sold widely.
Thomas married Ellen "Nelly" Wild on Oct. 10, 1854 in Boston. Nelly and Thomas had one child, Eliza Chickering Ball, born on May 26, 1857 in Boston. Eliza was later to marry sculptor William Couper in 1878.
After his marriage at age 35, Thomas went to Florence for study. Except for a period of work in Boston, in 1857–1865, he remained in Italy until 1897 as a member of an artistic colony that included Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Hiram Powers. The notables he met in Europe included Franz Liszt, whom he met at the Vatican in 1865, and of whom he produced a portrait bust.
When he returned, he lived in Montclair, New Jersey, while keeping a studio in New York City.
In 1880, Thomas Ball published an autobiographical book, "My Threescore Years and Ten", which he updated in 1890 as "My Four Score Years".
Thomas died at the age of 92, at the Montclair home of his daughter, Eliza Chickering Ball, and son-in-law, sculptor William Couper.
Thomas was born to Thomas Ball, Sr. and Elizabeth Wyer Hall. His father was a house and sign painter, but sadly he died when Thomas was the age of twelve.
Thomas was an artist of many talents... musician, painter and sculptor. As a sculptor, his work has had a marked influence on monumental art in the United States.
His earliest work was a bust of Jenny Lind, whom he saw on her 1850 tour of the United States. Copies of his Lind work and his bust of Daniel Webster were very popular and sold widely.
Thomas married Ellen "Nelly" Wild on Oct. 10, 1854 in Boston. Nelly and Thomas had one child, Eliza Chickering Ball, born on May 26, 1857 in Boston. Eliza was later to marry sculptor William Couper in 1878.
After his marriage at age 35, Thomas went to Florence for study. Except for a period of work in Boston, in 1857–1865, he remained in Italy until 1897 as a member of an artistic colony that included Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Hiram Powers. The notables he met in Europe included Franz Liszt, whom he met at the Vatican in 1865, and of whom he produced a portrait bust.
When he returned, he lived in Montclair, New Jersey, while keeping a studio in New York City.
In 1880, Thomas Ball published an autobiographical book, "My Threescore Years and Ten", which he updated in 1890 as "My Four Score Years".
Thomas died at the age of 92, at the Montclair home of his daughter, Eliza Chickering Ball, and son-in-law, sculptor William Couper.
Thomas was an artist of many talents... musician, painter and sculptor. As a sculptor, his work has had a marked influence on monumental art in the United States.
His earliest work was a bust of Jenny Lind, whom he saw on her 1850 tour of the United States. Copies of his Lind work and his bust of Daniel Webster were very popular and sold widely.
Thomas married Ellen "Nelly" Wild on Oct. 10, 1854 in Boston. Nelly and Thomas had one child, Eliza Chickering Ball, born on May 26, 1857 in Boston. Eliza was later to marry sculptor William Couper in 1878.
After his marriage at age 35, Thomas went to Florence for study. Except for a period of work in Boston, in 1857–1865, he remained in Italy until 1897 as a member of an artistic colony that included Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Hiram Powers. The notables he met in Europe included Franz Liszt, whom he met at the Vatican in 1865, and of whom he produced a portrait bust.
When he returned, he lived in Montclair, New Jersey, while keeping a studio in New York City.
In 1880, Thomas Ball published an autobiographical book, "My Threescore Years and Ten", which he updated in 1890 as "My Four Score Years".
Thomas died at the age of 92, at the Montclair home of his daughter, Eliza Chickering Ball, and son-in-law, sculptor William Couper.
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