J. Otto Schweizer
Jakob Otto Schweizer (March 27, 1863, Zurich - 1955) was a Swiss-American sculptor noted for his work on war memorials.
Biography
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, he enrolled in that city's Industrial Art School in 1879. In 1882, he entered the Royal Academy of Art in Dresden, Germany, and lived in Florence, Italy, 1889-94. He arrived in New York City in 1894, but settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the following year.[1]
He was a member of Philadelphia's German Society of Pennsylvania, and through its connections he obtained his first major commission, a bronze statue of General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (1910-11). He was also a Freemason.[2]
He created 7 sculptures for the Gettysburg Battlefield, more than any other artist. Among these was a larger-than-life statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Pennsylvania State Memorial. He modeled another Lincoln statue for the Memorial Room at the Union League of Philadelphia, and flanked it with 8 portrait reliefs of Union officers.[3] His only equestrian statue, Baron von Steuben (1921), is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He modeled dozens of busts, bas-reliefs and medalions,[4] and exhibited at the 1916 continuation of the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California.[5] His All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers (1934) is now in Philadelphia's Logan Square.
Selected works
- Civil War Monument (1909), Colorado State Capitol, Denver, Colorado, with Captain John D. Howland.[6]
- Statue of General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (1910-11), Philadelphia Museum of Art Sculpture Garden, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[7]
- Statue of Baron von Steuben (1912-14), Utica, New York. A 1915 replica of this with bas-relief is at Valley Forge National Historical Park.[8]
- Bust of Joseph Johns (1913), Central Park, Johnstown, Pennsylvania.[9]
- Monument to Confederate Women (1913), Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock, Arkansas.[10]
- James Bartram Nicholson (1913), Mount Peace Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Relief bust of General John P. Taylor (1914), Church Hill Cemetery, Reedsville, Pennsylvania.
- Molly Pitcher Monument (1916), Old Graveyard, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.[11]
- Reverend Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Monument (1917), Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Statue of President James A. Garfield (1918), Long Branch, New Jersey.[12]
- Statue of Senator George T. Oliver (19__), Rotunda, Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[13]
- Statue of General Thomas J. Stewart (19__), Rotunda, Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
- Fort Stevens Monument and Marker (1920), Fort Stevens, Washington, DC.
- Equestrian statue of Baron von Steuben (1921), Washington Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[14]
- American Eagle (World War I Memorial) (1923), Chelten Square, E. Chelten Ave. & Wister St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[15]
- Lily Pond Railing (surrounding George Frampton's Peter Pan statue) (1930), Johnson Park, Camden, New Jersey.[16]
- All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers (1934), Logan Square, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Moved from West Fairmount Park.[17]
- The Last Supper (1940s?), Mount Hope Cemetery, Topeka, Kansas.[18]
Gettysburg Battlefield
Union League of Philadelphia
Gallery
References
- Ernst Jockers, J. Otto Schweizer: The Man and His Work, (Philadelphia: International Printing Company, 1953).
External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Schweizer, J. Otto |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
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| Date of birth |
March 27, 1863 |
| Place of birth |
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| Date of death |
1955 |
| Place of death |
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