It is as inspiring as it is slightly unnerving how the work of an artist’s hands can go on existing for so long after the artist has left us. The act of bringing sculptures and paintings into the world is one of planting seeds of trees under whose shade one may never sit. The artist, even while working in the minutes of the present day, considers the yawning span of years to come; it’s impossible not to. After all, how many artists have they themselves studied who came before, who reached prominence and fell from it–who died, leaving only their oeuvre?

Jon H. Alexander, in my eyes at least, had a somewhat higher calling to his art. Though he started traditionally with stone sculpture and cast bronze busts, his later creations were whole scenes, works of historical scupture which–in turn–sculpted the young and curious minds who looked upon them. It is this extra step, into the dreams of the upcoming generations, which effectively made Alexander’s art immortal.

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Sculptural Works

In 1927, Jon H. Alexander was attracting much attention for his sculptural works. The below plaster portrait busts were exhibited at the Memorial Art Gallery beginning that May:

The article referred to at the end of the above, “achievements made by Mr. Alexander in use of norristone as a medium for sculpture…” was published earlier in April, regarding a noteworthy work of Jon Alexander’s, one which still survives:

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St. Joseph Sculpture

In 1927, Jon Alexander was a couple years into his employment with the Norristone Company. The company’s flagship product, a type of castable “cut granite” concrete, was well-suited to Alexander’s sculptural work. He began producing ecclesiastical artworks for area churches and religious organizations, of which a prime example would be the statue of St. Joseph which still stands above the entrance to Nazareth College’s Linehan Chapel.

[https://maps.app.goo.gl/pg22GBZTsnSdSMrM7]

“The oldest of all the buildings on campus has an entranceway that is possibly one of the most recognizable in the town of Pittsford. A local artist, Jon Alexander, created the nine foot statue of St. Joseph which stands among the pillars and ornate carvings surrounding the front doors to the building.”

https://exploringupstate.com/the-linehan-chapel-at-nazareth-college-pittsford-ny/

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Notes on Norristone

“Norristone” was a proprietary form of cut-cast granite, which became enormously popular for new construction during the early 20th century. Jon Alexander seems to have gotten his start early on working with the material, which he used in the St. Joseph statue above and the White Horse statue in Avon, referenced later in this article.

Norristone was the brainchild of J. Frank Norris, grandson of Brighton pioneer Jabez B. Norris and son of J. Frank Norris Sr. Working in the packing shed of the elder J. F. Norris’ nursery business at Norris and Nursery Streets, J. Frank perfected the formulation and pressure treatments which would lead to the castable, carvable Norristone.

J. Frank Norris was the last of three generations of Norrises to live in the esteemed Norris Mansion house, corner Norris Street and Winton Road South. This landmark structure would fall in 1959 to make way for “a feeder road to the Thruway”. The picket fences are already being depicketed in the photo below, to make way for its eventual demise.

Norristone was used widely in numerous buildings, both extant and vanished; buildings such as the Sagamore Hotel, the Eastman School of Music, the Democrat & Chronicle building, the Iola Sanitarium, the Gleason Works, and many banks and churches and businesses in Rochester, Buffalo, and other towns throughout New York State.

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White Horse of East Avon

On June 21st, 1992, the Avon Preservation and Historical Society had an announcement published regarding a drive for money, which was to be used for refurbishing the iconic White Horse statue from the former historic White Horse Inn, which had burned down 1955.

The late Jon Alexander’s sister, Lois Alexander Dioro, recognized the horse from the article as the handiwork of her brother, and contacted the Society to offer the information.

Alexander would have worked on the stone steed in 1930, to serve as a replacement for the original, deteriorating wooden horse. Jon Alexander is mentioned at the bottom of the article, as “John Alexander”, which states “the carving of the new White Horse was done by F. W. Howell and the modeling was achieved by John Alexander”.

Interestingly, the aforementioned restoration of the statue unearthed small tidbits of information, such as the famous White Horse having once been painted red, and another time painted black. Sculptor Ray Coloruotolo discovered the errant colors amid the coats of white paint he scraped from the equine:

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Nathaniel Rochester Bust

Two articles state that Alexander was responsible for a bronze bust of Nathaniel Rochester; one article from 1934 prior to its completion, and another article from 1992, wherein the artist’s sister mentions the bust.

Sadly, I was unable to find visual evidence of this bust, or its current whereabouts.

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RMSC Dioramas

The works of Alexander that are probably the most familiar and nostalgic to Rochesterians are the numerous ornate dioramas at the Rochester Museum and Science Center. Many of these were created either collaboratively with fellow artist-preparators, or entirely by Alexander himself.

Alexander prepared for these educational works of art by visiting the regions himself, sketchbook in hand, and meeting with native groups to observe their lifestyle and rituals whenever he could. Colorful sketches made in colored pencil would become the basis for the illustrative background layers of the dioramas, in front of which would be arranged painstakingly-crafted miniatures of structures and people exhibiting their particular cultural practices.

A particular draw of Alexander’s work was his seamless blending of foreground and background to create a dioramic vista of dramatic depth.

Particular attention was paid to authentically representing the places in the dioramas, including noteworthy vegetation and scenery, even textures and colors of sand.

A great amount of Alexander’s work went into the numerous dioramas and displays in the RMSC’s “Hall of Man” exhibit, which showed cultures of humankind throughout history and around the world, including neolithic era, Native Americans, and arctic Inuit, among others.

Jon Alexander took part in the construction of the Iroquois Long-house in 1947:

In the 1950s, plans were getting underway for expansions to the museum, including a planetarium. It seems the planetarium was originally conceived as being closer to Park Avenue, where the RMSC Public Access Park is today.

The expansions to the RMSC, including the construction of the Strasenburgh Planetarium, would not happen until the following decade, with multiple changes to the above model’s layout.

Jon Alexander designed a model of the Granite Mills, a 19th-century flour mill typical of the flour mills which gave Rochester its nickname, “The Flour City”; it was revealed to the public in 1963:

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Jon’s Life

In 1949, the Democrat and Chronicle published a piece on Jon Alexander, including a look at his home life.

Jon’s wife, Judy, was actually named Edith but went by Judy for some forgotten reason.

Jon Alexander and his family, as of 1949, lived in a newly-built house at No. 150 Beckwith Terrace, designed by Alexander himself with all interior finishings done by the artist’s own hand.

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And so the artist himself may no longer be with us, but many of his thoughtful creations still play in the minds of museum-goers, who see the careful attention to detail and the respect he paid to the lives of his subjects. No simple cartoons, the dioramas created by Alexander were crafted to be a representative slice of our human world, a piece of the human experience. Hopefully, they’ll be there for a good long time.

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