Born: 12 August 1894, Belarus
Died: 24 January 1979
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Башка Паэф
The following is republished with permission from the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail.
Known as the “subway sculptress” for creating clay models during her work as a toll collector, Bashka Paeff (1893-1973) was a Russian Jewish immigrant and a celebrated artist.
Known as the “subway sculptress” because in her spare time during work as a toll collector at the Park Street subway station she created clay models for her studies at the Museum of Fine Arts, Bashka Paeff (1893-1973) was a Russian Jewish immigrant who lived with her family at 6 Pinckney Street. Her most controversial work, The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, stands in John Paul Jones Park in Kittery, Maine. Although she made changes to soften the work at the request of the governor, she originally wanted to depict the horrors of war, saying “…we should set up memorials that make us loathe war instead of admire it”. Other notable works include the Boy and Bird fountain in the Public Garden, a memorial honoring WWI Massachusetts chaplains in the Massachusetts State House, and The Battle of Lexington for the town of Lexington. She received the Daniel Chester French award from the National Academy of Design as well as numerous other awards.