Love Stories: Alexander Phimister and Mody Proctor

With a fine wife as inspiration in my work and as a companion in the wilderness, with a fine family of children, and with good friends, my cup has been full to overflowing.

– Alexander Phimister Proctor

Alexander Phimister Proctor met Margaret Daisey Gerow at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1891. They were both were participating artists there. Margaret assisted sculptor Lorado Taft and Alexander was commissioned to create large outdoor sculptures to decorate the fairgrounds. A budding young sculptor herself, Margaret attended the Art Institute of Chicago.

Two years later, on September 27, 1893, Phim and Margaret married. Margaret set aside a promising career in the arts to help support Phim’s sculpting, traveling extensively, and moving frequently to follow commissions and opportunities. She raised their eight children. Affectionately called “Mody” by her family, Margaret was Alexander’s most dedicated champion and art critic over the course of their forty-eight-year marriage.

Learn more about Alexander Phimister Proctor here and visit the Center to view his studio and works!