William Tolbert Kieffer Jr. (American, 1928 - 2008)

White marble with a dark grey vein running through the center, highly polished and roughly finished; not signed. Acquired directly from the artist, who was a friend and classmate at Yale University.

William Tolbert Kieffer lived and worked as a sculptor in this New Hampshire town for 25 years with his wife, Ann Feeley, a well-known sculptor in her own right. Together they shared studios during the 1980's and 1990's at the Boston Center for the Arts and in Pietrasanta, Tuscany, Italy where they enjoyed the working privileges at Fonderia' Mariani for bronze and Studio Nicoli for their marble work. Will was a man dedicated to peace and expressing it through his art. His sculpture followed the Mannerists and Baroque of the Italian Renaissance and drew upon rich historical, literary and biblical themes. His public work includes a portrait of A. Bartlett Giamatti, at Yale University; the "Angel of Peace" and St. James Cathedral in downtown Chicago, celebrating the 60's anniversary of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship; a ten foot bronze statue of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, commissioned for the 300th anniversary of the city located in the Philip Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit; and "Cain and Abel, a bronze commemorating the 140th anniversary of the Battle of Cold Harbour (Richmond, VA) featuring two male figured in a death struggle that emphasizes that all war is fratricide. The last two public pieces were done in collaboration with Ann. Will also had a career of 33 years in the financial services field with the Aetna Life and Casualty in Hartford, and served on several National Boards of charitable and non-profit organizations including the National Combined Health Appeal, The Lukemia and Lymphoma Society of America, and the International Foundation of Employee Benefits. He was until the time of his death an Honorary Trustee of the Mountain Chapel on Mount Mansfield in Stowe Vermont. He was born in St. Louis, MO, April 18th, 1928; was educated at the John Burroughs School where he graduated in 1945. He received a BA from Yale University in 1950. He was a veteran of World War II (82nd Airborne Division) and served for five years in the Army Reserve.