William Ralston Balch

William Ralston Balch was a prolific author and sometime traveling companion of Franz Liszt. Early in his career, Balch worked in Europe as an international correspondent for American newspapers. He must have been in Paris in 1878 covering the Exposition Universelle when he met Franz Liszt, who served as president of the exhibition's musical instruments section. Saint-Gaudens and his wife also spent 1878 in Paris, where he assisted in selecting the United States art entries for the same exhibition.