Julia Bracken Wendt, (1870–1942) a notable American sculptor, was born on June 10, 1871, in Apple River, Illinois,[2] the twelfth of thirteen children in an Irish Catholic family.

By sixteen she was working as a domestic servant for a woman who recognized her talent and drive, and paid to enroll her in the Art Institute of Chicago.

There she studied with Lorado Taft and by 1887 she had advanced to become his studio and teaching assistant.

The work was later cast in bronze and unveiled at the Illinois State Capitol,[5] at which time Governor Altgeld was the main speaker.

[3] In California she taught at the Otis Art Institute[6] and, with her husband, was instrumental in the founding of the California Art Club in 1909, which was developed on the premise of allowing women and sculptors into the membership.