William Randolph Barbee

William Randolph Barbee (January 17, 1818 – June 16, 1868 ) was an American sculptor recognized for creating idealized, sentimental classical figures. Barbee's most notable works were the marble sculptures entitled Coquette and Fisher Girl.

Biography The family descends from John Barbee, of French-Huguenot ancestry, who settled in Virginia. Barbee was born in "Hawburg", in a part of Culpeper County, Virginia, that later became Rappahannock County. (Alternatively, he was born near Luray in Page County). He was one of the eleven children of Andrew Russell Barbee, Sr. (alternate: Andrew Russel Barbee, Sr.) and Nancy (née Britton) Barbee. His siblings included brothers George (b. 1811), Ely (b. 1812), Col. Gabriel Thomas (1814–1908), Lewis Conner (1821–1877), Dr. Andrew Russell, Jr. (1827–1903), and Joseph (b. 1832); and sisters Eliza Annie (b. 1813), Ellam (b. 1815), Mary (b. 1823), Maratha (b. 1828), Laurina Caroline (b. 1829), and Adaline Catherine (b. 1831).

Career

He studied at Richmond College and began working in the offices of Barbee & Cunningham in Moorefield, West Virginia. Fisher Girl can today be found in Smithsonian American Art Museum. He also completed a plaster bust of James L. Orr, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Barbee returned to the United States in 1858. He had commenced working on a design for the pediment of the U.S. House of Representatives when the outbreak of the Civil War halted his plans. He also left two major works unfinished at his death, The Star of the West (a depiction of Pocahontas) and The Lost Pleiad. He died near Luray at a place known as "The Bower" and was buried in Green Hill Cemetery there in 1868.

Personal life Mary's Rock is said to be named for either Barbee's wife, Mary, or the daughter of Frances Thornton. he erected a bust of his father on location at the rock. Barbee was the nephew of General Patrick Henry Brittan, 10th Secretary of State of Alabama.

Legacy Barbee's birthplace is denoted by a marker (Marker Number C 56.), erected 1972 by the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission, located at inside Shenandoah National Park on the border of Page County and Rappahannock County at the cross over of Lee Highway (U.S. 211) and Skyline Drive, several miles east of the town of Luray.