Sarah Symonds, a sculptor, artist and craftsman who was born in Salem in 1870. Sarah (1870-1965) delighted in Salem’s First Period architecture, colonial furniture and crafting traditions. Likely inspired by her Symonds ancestors — as well as Salem sculptors Louisa Lander (1826-1923), and John Rogers (1829-1904) who later produced many painted plaster sculptures in New York — Sarah combined the skills of an artist, sculptor, painter and carpenter. Her pieces made commercially for sale in Salem after about 1905 were typically made through a complex series of stages, involving evidently the crafting of a clay original model, the painting on of a latex or liquid molding compound, the pouring of new plaster casts in latex molds, and the painting of finished plaster casts. From her casts and models, she also produced ornamental painted items made of cast iron. It was said of her that “the merit of Sarah W. Symonds’ work is her choice of subject, her feeling for it, and the truth of her expression.” Sarah continued working well into her 80th year, and enjoyed great celebrity late in her life.”
