Kitson, Theo A.R. (1871–1932)

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Kitson, Theo A.R. (1871–1932)

American sculptor. Born Theo Alice Ruggles in 1871; was first wife of Henry Hudson Kitson (an English sculptor).

The most talented pupil of her husband Henry Hudson Kitson, Theo Kitson later studied with Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret in Paris, became one of the few women members of the National Sculpture Society, and, at the time she received honors at the Paris salon, was the only American woman to have gained such distinction. The monumental statues which are her chief works are spirited, robust, and simple both in conception and execution. Among the best are the Massachusetts State Monument at Vicksburg, The Minute Man of '76 in Framingham, Massachusetts, the statue of Tadeusz Kosciuszko on Boston Common, an equestrian statue of victory in Hingham, Massachusetts, and various soldiers' monuments.