From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American sculptor (1863–1955)
J. Otto Schweizer, Who's Who in Philadelphia, 1920.
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 , Schweizer enrolled in that city's Industrial Art School in 1879. In 1882, he entered the
Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in
Dresden, Germany , where he studied with
Johannes Schilling .
[1] He then lived in Florence, Italy, 1889-94. He arrived in
New York City in 1894, and settled in
Philadelphia the following year.
[2]
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 .
[3]
Schweizer 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.
[4] His only equestrian statue,
Baron von Steuben (1921), is in
Milwaukee . He modeled dozens of busts,
bas-reliefs and medallions,
[5] and exhibited at the 1916 continuation of the
Panama–Pacific International Exposition in
San Francisco .
[6]
His
All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors (1934), originally placed in Philadelphia's
Fairmount Park , was relocated to
Logan Square in 1994.
Schweizer died in 1955, at the age of 92.
Selected works
All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors (1934),
Logan Square , Philadelphia.
General
Andrew A. Humphreys (1919),
Gettysburg Battlefield , Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
U.S. Air Force officers posing in the Memorial Room,
Union League of Philadelphia .
Civil War Monument (1909),
Colorado State Capitol ,
Denver , with Captain John D. Howland.
[7]
Statue of General
John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (1910–11),
Philadelphia Museum of Art Sculpture Garden , Philadelphia.
[8]
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 .
[9]
Bust of Joseph Johns (1913), Central Park, Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
[10]
Monument to Confederate Women (1913),
Arkansas State Capitol , Little Rock, Arkansas.
[11]
James Bartram Nicholson (1913),
Mount Peace Cemetery , Philadelphia.
Relief bust of General John P. Taylor (1914), Church Hill Cemetery, Reedsville, Pennsylvania.
Molly Pitcher Monument (1916), Old Graveyard, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
[12]
Reverend
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Monument (1917),
Lutheran Theological Seminary , Philadelphia.
Statue of President
James A. Garfield (1918),
Long Branch, New Jersey .
[13]
Statue of Senator George T. Oliver (19__), Rotunda,
Pennsylvania State Capitol , Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
[14]
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 .
[15]
American Eagle (World War I Memorial) (1923), Chelten Square, E. Chelten Ave. & Wister St., Philadelphia.
[16]
Schoonmaker Monument (1920s?),
Homewood Cemetery ,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania .
Lily Pond Railing (surrounding
George Frampton 's
Peter Pan statue ) (1930), Johnson Park,
Camden, New Jersey .
[17]
All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors (1934),
Logan Square , Philadelphia. Relocated from
West Fairmount Park in 1994.
[18]
The Last Supper (1940s?), Mount Hope Cemetery, Topeka, Kansas.
[19]
The Last Supper (1944), Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple,
Scranton, Pennsylvania .
[20]
Gettysburg Battlefield
Union League of Philadelphia
Gallery
Civil War Memorial (1909),
Colorado State Capitol ,
Denver , with Captain John D. Howland.
General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (1910–11),
Philadelphia Museum of Art Sculpture Garden , Philadelphia.
Monument to Confederate Women (1913),
Arkansas State Capitol , Little Rock, Arkansas.
President Abraham Lincoln (1913),
Pennsylvania State Memorial ,
Gettysburg Battlefield , Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
General David McMurtrie Gregg (1913), Pennsylvania State Memorial, Gettysburg Battlefield, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
General Alfred Pleasonton (1913), Pennsylvania State Memorial, Gettysburg Battlefield, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
General William Wells (1914),
Gettysburg Battlefield , Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A replica is at Battery Park, Burlington, Vermont.
General John Geary (c. 1914),
Gettysburg Battlefield , Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
General Alexander Hays (c. 1914),
Gettysburg Battlefield , Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Baron von Steuben (1915),
Valley Forge National Historical Park , Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Pedestal bas-relief,
Baron von Steuben statue (1915),
Valley Forge National Historical Park .
Model for a memorial to
Francis Daniel Pastorius (before 1916, unbuilt).
Reverend Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Monument (1917),
Lutheran Theological Seminary , Philadelphia.
Bas-relief:
Lincoln under Fire at Fort Stevens, July 12, 1864 (1920),
Fort Stevens , Washington, D.C.
References
Ernst Jockers, J. Otto Schweizer: The Man and His Work , (Philadelphia: International Printing Company, 1953).
^ Jockers, Ernst, J, Otto Schweizer: The Man and His Work, Press of the International Printing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,1953 p. 16
^
National Park Service biography from Valley Forge National Historical Park.
^
Famous Masons (under sculptors)
^ "John [
sic ] Otto Schweizer 1863-1955," in Maxwell Whiteman, Paintings and Sculpture at The Union League of Philadelphia (The Union League of Philadelphia, 1978), p. 115.
^
1917 Alexander the Great medallion
^
Illustrated Catalogue
^
Civil War Monument
^
Peter Muhlenberg from Philadelphia Public Art.
^ Rudolf Cronau, German Achievements in America (New York, 1916).
^
Joseph Johns from Flickr.
^
Confederate Women from waymarking.com
^
Molly Pitcher Monument from Flickr.
^
President Garfield from Flickr.
^
Senator Oliver from Flickr.
^
Equestrian statue
Archived 2011-07-15 at the
Wayback Machine from photographersdirect.com
^
model of American Eagle from ArtNet.
^
Lily Pond Railing from geocaching.com
^
All Wars Memorial from Philadelphia Public Art.
^
"The Last Supper" . Archived from
the original on 2011-05-15. Retrieved 2011-02-12 .
^
"Home" . scrantonculturalcenter.org .
External links
International National Artists People Other