John Rogers (1829-1904) was the most successful genre sculptor of mid-19th century America. His plaster groups sold by the thousands.

John Rogers was born in Salem, Mass., and spent his early life as a clerk in New England, New York, and the Midwest. He began to model sculpture before the middle of the century. In 1858 he went first to Paris and then to Rome for training. The ideals of contemporary neoclassicism, as practiced by both American and European sculptors in Italy, did not inspire him, however, and he turned his back upon his sculptural pursuits when he returned to Chicago.

However, Rogers was persuaded to continue modeling small genre figures of a type he had done previously. Their success led him to open a studio in New York City in 1859. A combination of his sculptural ability and shrewd marketing practices quickly made that venture a success too...