Praeger, Sophia Rosamund (1867–1954)
Praeger, Sophia Rosamund (1867–1954)
Irish sculptor, author, and illustrator of children's books . Born in Holywood, County Down, Ireland, in 1867; died in 1954; attended the Sullivan School, Holywood; studied art at the Belfast School of Art and the Slade School, London, England; also studied in Paris.
Sophia Praeger achieved fame with her sculpture The Philosopher, which is now displayed in the Colorado Springs Museum and Art Gallery. Other works, executed mostly in plaster, and including relief panels and memorial plaques and stones, have been exhibited in London, Paris, and at the Irish Decorative Art Association. Still others were commissioned for schools, libraries, banks, and churches in her native Ireland. Praeger also wrote and illustrated children's books, including three in collaboration with her brother Robert. Praeger, who was president of the Royal Ulster Academy, received an honorary doctorate from Queen's University, Belfast, and was awarded an MBE in 1939.