J. Otto Schweizer
American sculptor (1863–1955)
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 [usurped] 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
Media related to J. Otto Schweizer at Wikimedia Commons
International National Artists People Other