Early years

Wagner had immigrated from Germany to Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

 by 1871. After arriving in Detroit he studied with Detroit sculptor Julius Melchers (father of painter Gari Melchers

Gari Melchers

Julius Garibaldi Melchers was an American artist. He was one of the leading American proponents of naturalism.-Biography:...

). He also studied in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

As a sculptor in Detroit he was involved in several partnerships, Wagner and Reuther (1885-1887) and Wagner and Volbracht (1890-1895). He and his various firms created wood carvings for churches as well as stone architectural commissions. His best known work is the architectural sculpture

Architectural sculpture

Architectural sculpture is the term for the use of sculpture by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge, mausoleum or other such project...

, notably the Anthony Wayne

Anthony Wayne

Anthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...

 pediment

Pediment

A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...

, on the Wayne County Building

Wayne County Building

The Wayne County Building is a lowrise government structure in Detroit, Michigan. It stands at 600 Randolph Street, and formerly contained the Wayne County administrative offices and its courthouse. The current administrative offices are located in the Guardian Building at 500 Griswold Street...

, constructed from 1897 to 1902.

In 1906 Wagner entered a competition to create a statue of General Alexander Macomb for the city of Detrtoit. The judges for the contest were Charles F. McKim, Daniel H. Burnham, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...

. It was won by New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 sculptor Adolph Alexander Weinman

Adolph Alexander Weinman

Adolph Alexander Weinman was an American sculptor, born in Karlsruhe, Germany.- Biography :Weinman arrived in the United States at the age of 10. At the age of 15, he attended evening classes at Cooper Union and later studied at the Art Students League of New York with sculptors Augustus St....

, who had both studied with and served as an assistant to St. Gaudens, Weinman had also created many commissions for McKim's, firm, McKim, Mead and White and who certainly was better known to Burnham than was Wagner.

Wagner worked generating architectural sculpture at both the World's Columbian Exposition

World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...

 in Chicago in 1983 and the St. Louis Exposition

St. Louis Exposition

St. Louis Exposition can refer to either:*Saint Louis Exposition *Louisiana Purchase Exposition...

 in St Louis in 1904.

He was employed by the government of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 and spent five years in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

.

On August 17, 1937, the Detroit News, as part a story "Contributions to Detroit Art Recalled by Barlow's Death" contained the following sentence:

Edward Wagner's sculpture adorned some of the most imposing buildings in far parts of the earth.

External links

• http://www.barlowgenealogy.com/Families/MyronBarlow/Myron.html
• http://detroithistorical.org/collections/vewebsite2/exhibit3/e30012b.htm