Bernard Emerson "Poco" Frazier
Sculptor. Born: Athol, Smith County, Kansas, on June 30, 1906. Married: Frances M. Shilling, Chicago, Illinois, on December 28, 1932. Died: Smith County, May 24, 1976.
Bernard Emerson Frazier was born to Clarence Levi and Isa Alma (Lodeska) Frazier in Athol, Smith County, Kansas, on June 30, 1906. Growing up on a western Kansas farm he discovered a fascination with carving native stone and clay, expressing his creativity and skill. He attended the University of Kansas (KU) in Lawrence from 1925 to 1929, competing on the KU track team, while obtaining more formal instruction in art and sculpture.
While at university, Frazier earned his nickname "Poco" (Spanish for "little"), marking his size--5 feet tall and weighing 100 pounds. Frazier demonstrated great ability with large and small sculptures. After graduation he moved to Chicago to be an apprentice for nationally prominent sculptors, Loredo Taft and Fred Torrey. He returned to Kansas in 1935 to build his career as a highly skilled artist, first sculpting 12 dioramas for the Dyche Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas.
Frazier was commissioned to produce hundreds of pieces of art for businesses, churches, and public buildings in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. He taught sculpture at KU. His work could be found on the exterior of the First United Methodist Church in Wichita, where he created perhaps the largest and heaviest mosaic in the United States. Frazier and his son Malcolm spent three years assembling the 70,000 clay tiles, Frazier fired himself, in the 7-ton work of art.
The State of Kansas commissioned Frazier about in 1956 to sculpt the large Spanish, French, and American pioneers on the plain Kansas Silverdale limestone side of the Kansas State Office Building. in which is west across the street from the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka. To produce this mural he worked early in the morning and late at night so as not to bother the state office workers. The building
He was also requested to design a statue for the top of the Capitol dome, which at that time had a large light bulb atop it. He proposed replacing the naked bulb "night light" with a 15-foot bronze statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain, who many people thought would be a good symbol for Kansas. Unfortunately, some opposed it because they thought it too expensive, while others objected to a pagan goddess of uncertain morals looking out over the state capital. Eventually, another sculptor designed the bronze statue of a Native American that now stands atop the dome.
Frazier's last big project was a large marble allegorical statue titled Justice, which now stands in the foyer of the Kansas Judicial Center, which is near his creation on the Docking Building and across the street from the Capitol building. Frazier had completed the design and selected the Italian marble block from which Justice was to be sculpted when he passed away. His son Malcolm finished the task.
Bernard Frazier is probably the best sculptor produced by Kansas up to this time and his reputation went beyond the borders of his native state where he did most of his work.
Entry: Frazier, Bernard Emerson "Poco"
Author: G. Joseph Pierron
Author information: Judge Pierron serves on the Kansas Court of Appeals and has an interest in Kansas history.
Date Created: November 2012
Date Modified: December 2024
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
