Seth M. Velsey

Seth Velsey was a Midwestern artist with substantial ties to The Dayton Art Institute. Born in Indiana, Velsey showed an early commitment to the arts: he was a scholarship student in the Saturday programs at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis. After enrolling in the architecture program at the University of Illinois, he later transferred to The Art Institute of Chicago to study sculpture, anatomy and drawing. During this period, Velsey worked in the studio of the well-known sculptor Lorado Taft. By 1930, the young artist had become head of the Sculpture Department of the School of The Dayton Art Institute (which operated from the founding of the museum in 1919 until 1975).

Velsey was a versatile artist who was adept in a variety of media. Among his most visible works in the Dayton area are bronze busts of the Wright brothers (on view at the Air Force Museum), and two monumental limestone figural sculptures which still sit on the grounds of the Art Institute. Velsey worked for the School of The Dayton Art Institute until 1934, but remained in the city for some years until another teaching position led him to Chillicothe in southern Ohio. Eventually he returned to settle in Yellow Springs, where he taught at Antioch College. (Source: Eileen Carr, "Art in Context: Seth Velsey," AccessArt at the Dayton Art Institute website, Accessed August 11, 2004, )