Henry Shiff (1832-1907)

He was educated in France before serving as a Surgeon with the Confederate Army. After the Civil War, he went to New York City where he briefly practiced medicine before for Rome in Italy. He never returned to America, living in Europe between Italy, Spain, and Paris. In Paris he met the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Shiff became his mentor and confidant. Saint-Gaudens named his son Homer Schiff Saint-Gaudens in honor of their friendship. Shiff collected Chinese and Japanese bronzes, particularly toads and frogs, and died in Paris seemingly unmarried.