Winner of the esteemed Prix de Rome 1925, Hancock first came to Gloucester as a student of Charles Grafly, his teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). He lived in Philadelphia during the school year and spent summers working in Grafly’s Folly Cove studio. Hancock would eventually build a studio in Lanesville, making Cape Ann his home. In 1948 he married the love of his life, Saima Natti, who was the sister of Pauline Manship Natti’s husband Ilarmi. He was a gentleman scholar and a gracious host, who also served his country as an army officer and Monuments Man, responsible for the repatriation of stolen cultural treasures after World War II. Hancock created important public monuments, including the deeply moving Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial located in Philadelphia’s Thirtieth Street railroad station. He was considered the dean of American figurative sculpture. Those who knew him, recognized him as a true mentor.