National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume X:
Born in Leipsic, Germany to A. J. Eduard and Augusta (Gebhard) Weinert. As a young child he formed animal figures out of bread. Educated in Leipsic, he showed great talent in art and was encouraged by his teacher to enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts, where he supported himself by drawing portraits of friends and family - his parents did not approve of his enrollment there. After four years of studying sculpture there, he traveled through Holland and Belgium and then completed his training in sculpture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Brussels. He returned to Leipsic in 1884 when his father died, and tried to earn a living as a poet. He had some success with this and became friendly with some well-known writers, but ultimately decided that his best bet was art.
He moved to the U.S. in 1886 - first to San Francisco where he won the competition for a monument in Sacramento - the A. J. Stevens Monument, "friend of labor'" - a Master Mechanic for Southern Pacific Railroad. Then on to Chicago where he began working with other artists on Columbian Exposition buildings, including the Manufacturers' Building and other halls.
In 1892, he won the competition for the anarchist monument in Chicago, and was also given the contract to erect the statue. It was unveiled in 1893. The sculpture represents a scene from Franz Freiligrath's poem "Die Revolution" : the hero is stricken dead by the tyrant in his mountain house, the daughter standing by his prostrate form in an attitude of supreme defiance - her right arm with clenched fist, crossed upon her breast, while with her left she bestows a wreath upon the brow of the prostrate form. On the base of the statue are the words "Our silence will be more powerful than words could be" which are attributed to Spies, one of the anarchists.
This brought him more work, and he received commissions for busts, portrait statues, and a battle monument for Confederate dead in Chicago's Oakwood Cemetery. His reputation continued to grow, and in 1894 he was called to Washington D.C. to work on sculptural decorations for the new Library of Congress. Despite significant earlier work in decorative and architectural sculpture, Weinert stated that it was only when he took charge of the stucco decorations of LC, that he realized to what imposing proportions the art of decoration might be raised. When his work on this building was completed in 1896, Weinert went to New York City and continued with his art, doing portraits and battle scenes, a battle monument near Lake George, and a memorial tablet commemorating New York Governor George Clinton.
Weinert married Anna Eliza Nielsen in 1889, and they have two children,
NYT obituary, 12-1-1947:
Weinert died in his studio-home at 1125 Grand Concourse in the Bronx after a brief illness. He was 84.
He retired in 1941 after publishing a limited edition of his autobiography, "My Memory." His work included architectural sculptures in the dome of LC, and a marble group of Indians selling Manhattan Island for trinkets that stands in the Hall of Records.
Born in Leipzig, Germany, the son of Edward Andreas and Augusta Gebhard, he was educated at the Royal Academy in Leipzig and later received a traveling scholarship from the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Brussels. He came to the U.S. in 1886 and became a naturalized citizen in 1903.
His works include the Battle Monument at Lake George, statue of Lord Baltimore in Baltimore, statue of Governor Stevens Mason in Detroit, and McKinley monument in Toledo. Also, a bronze trophy for the Navy, a plaque for the musicians on the Titanic, and decorative figures for the San Francisco Exposition.
Survived by his widow Anna Eliza Nielsen, whom he married in 1889, and two sons - Harold N. and Roland Edward.
______
Albert
Weinert
His work at the CE was
described in the book (James) as “His work in the Court of Ages has added
greatly to the interest of that Court and is forceful, virile work. “So much of
the country’s talent was assembled that Saint-Gaudens exclaimed after one of
the planning sessions ‘this is the greatest meeting of artists since the
fifteenth century."
Weinert won first prize in the Pioneer Aid and Support
Association design competition, and was also given the commission to erect the
monument.
He was at the cemetery for the unveiling of the monument in
June of 1893, and could possibly have done the Altgeld plaque. There is a similar design motif on monument and on plaque.
His architectural and technical experience landed him the
job at LC where he oversaw a crew of modelers and carvers. He moved to New York
and worked in the studio of Karl Bittert. Returning to
NY, he began doing illustrations around 1920, and did several children’s books. From the auction page)
Retired in 1941.
Not a radical but probably progressive. Wrote a letter to
the New York Times in 1910 strongly
supporting the idea of a temple to peace being erected and inaugurated in
celebration of the founding of Manhattan, and stated that “the pursuance of art
and peace is strongly allied and should get along well under one roof.”
Melissa Dubakis speculated in her notes for Visualizing
labor that that “his politics seem to the left – he did the sculpture the
Peacemaker in 1915 – ‘it is the figure of the Saviour tendering peace and
imploring warring nations to return to its shelter.’ He was inspired by the
church and neutrals everywhere trying to find a reconciliation. He intends to
make 20 replicas in travertine terracotta for the purpose of the pacificist
campaign,” (“Albert Weinert, the Sculptor, inspired by The World’s interview, The World 26 April 1915 (NYPL Artists files)
A much-repeated misconception exists about the inspiration
for the statue. It’s been written many places (including as truth on the ILHS site) that Weinert was inspired by the
revolutionary anthem, The Marseilleisse. While The Marseilleisse was an
extremely popular song, played at most anarchist gatherings, sung by the
martyr(s) on the night before the execution, played at the funeral, and one
of the most beautiful melodies in the world – no evidence at all exists to
indicate it was Weinert's inspiration. In fact, all accounts of the time state
clearly that his inspiration was the poem Revolution, by the very popular
radical German poet Ferdinand Freiligrath. Fielden read it at the trial. This
was reported widely at the time the contract was awarded in the Chicago Trib and other papers. It was included in the National Cyclopeaedia of Biography in 1907 - the most detailed info I have found about Weinert.
This oral legend seems to first show up (no mention until) from
Abrams autiobiography,
emphasized later by Adelman. And repeated many times by ILHS.
Debakis’s files contain an unnamed Rutgers research paper
that states that the inspiring verse specifically was verse 7 of The M:
Drive on sacred patriotism
Support our avenging arms
Liberty, cherished liberty
Join the struggle with your defenders
Under our flags, let victory
Hurry to your manly tone
So that in death your enemies
See your triumph and our glory!
Compare it to Verse One of F:
And though ye caught your noble prey
Within the hangman’s sordid thrall;
And though your captive was led forth
Beneath the city’s rampart wall;
And though the grass lies o’er her green
Where at the morning’s early red
The peasant girl brings funeral wreaths –
Joe Rulli also quotes this verse and a bit more in his book.
Works include: make
clear this is selected
Statue of Trastor Theocu Atkus, created at Sacramento Calif
in 1890
Cecilius Calvert monument, Baltimore
Neptune Fountain LC, also reading room decorations
Memorial tablets in NY: Tallmadge, Washington, and some at
CCNY and NYU
Anarchists
Oakwood
Decorative sculptures at the cong lib in Washington dc from
1894-1896
Memorial of George
Washington
Robert Fulton
Columbia University
Medal 1899
Lord Baltimore1909
Gov. Stevens T. Mason in Detroit
Bronze trophy for submarine division of US Navy as a prize,
1911
Tablet in memory of band for Titanic – Mutual Protective
Union for Musicians
Facade of Masonic Bldg, SF
Exhibitor for architectural sculptures Pan Pacific Exposition
1915
Marble group of Indians (selling Manhattan) in NY City Hall
of Records
Bust of
Portrait
Battle Monument at Lake George, NY 1903.
McKinley Monument in Toledo Ohio
Sources
National Cyclopaedia
of American Biography. Volume X.
Chicago Daily Tribune.
January 18, 1892
New York Times, December 1, 1947. Obit
New York Times. July 7, 1910.
Letter in WorldCat
Artoftheprint.com
Forever Open Clear and Free, 2nd ed.
Melissa Dubakis brainstorming notes
Library of Congress: Art and Arch
Catalogue of the Exhibition of Contemporary Medals (Am
Numismatic)
Musicians Union website
James, Juliet. Sculpture of the Exposition Palace and Courts
Can we use the
Smithsonian photo?
No comments:
Post a Comment