Hans Schuler
Encyclopedia
Hans K. Schuler was a German-born American sculptor and monument maker. He was the first American sculptor ever to win the Salon Gold Medal
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...

. His works are in several important museum collections, and he also created many public monuments, mostly for locations in Maryland and in the Washington, D.C., area. For over a quarter of a century he served as president of the Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...

.

Life and work

Hans Schuler was born in a part of Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...

 which was then under German sovereignty, though it is now part of France. Schuler's family emigrated to the United States while he was still a youngster. He graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...

 (MICA) in Baltimore, Maryland, having studied there at the Rinehart
William Henry Rinehart
William Henry Rinehart was a noted American sculptor. He is considered "the last important American sculptor to work in the classical style."-Biography:...

 School of Sculpture.

He continued his artistic training in France at the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...

, studying under Raoul Verlet :fr:Raoul Verlet http://www.artfact.com/catalog/viewLot.cfm?iid=6851046&ri=3. Schuler won the Salon Gold Medal
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...

 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in 1901, the first American sculptor ever to do so. Returning to Baltimore, he built his studio at 7 East Lafayette Avenue in 1906 http://www.schulerschooloffinearts.com/, residing and working in Baltimore for the rest of his life. Schuler served as president of MICA from 1925 to 1951 and was a member of the Charcoal Club of Baltimore
Charcoal Club of Baltimore
The Charcoal Club has been an arts club in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, on an intermittent basis since 1883.-History:Started as the Sketch Club in 1883 by a group of male artists in Baltimore who "desired to draw and paint from life" , the Charcoal Club was incoporated in 1885. The founding officers...

. His works are in the collections of museums including the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...

 in Washington, DC and the Walters Art Museum
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland's Mount Vernon neighborhood, is a public art museum founded in 1934. The museum's collection was amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters , who began serious collecting when he moved to Paris at the outbreak of the American...

 in Baltimore. His Baltimore studio is still in use as the Schuler School of Fine Arts, founded in 1959 by sculptor Hans C. Schuler (1912-1999), the son of Hans K. Schuler. The Hans Schuler Studio and Residence
Hans Schuler Studio and Residence
The Hans Schuler Studio and Residence is a historic home and artist studio located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is an eclectic brick building constructed in two stages...

 was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1985.

Schuler's sculptures and monuments grace many public places. Among them is a statue of U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....

 in Meridian Hill Park
Meridian Hill Park
Meridian Hill Park, is located in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights in the United States. The 12 acres of landscaped grounds are maintained by the National Park Service as part of Rock Creek Park, but are not contiguous with the main part of that park...

 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 It is the only public memorial dedicated to Buchanan. On Baltimore's Charles Street, in the area of the main campus of Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

, there are also imposing monuments by Schuler honoring Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins was a wealthy American entrepreneur, philanthropist and abolitionist of 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, now most noted for his philanthropic creation of the institutions that bear his name, namely the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins University and its associated...

 and Sidney Lanier
Sidney Lanier
Sidney Lanier was an American musician and poet.-Biography:Sidney Lanier was born February 3, 1842, in Macon, Georgia, to parents Robert Sampson Lanier and Mary Jane Anderson; he was mostly of English ancestry. His distant French Huguenot ancestors immigrated to England in the 16th century...

. All three of these monuments are large bronzes occupying elaborate stone placements. Schuler's sculptures and reliefs also adorn the interiors of many public buildings. For example, Schuler, along with sculptor J. Maxwell Miller, created a large relief panel which is located in the main concert hall at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.

While Hans Schuler created many public monuments, he also created extremely sensual examples of free sculpture, including a life-sized and very life-like marble nude - now at the Walters Art Museum
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland's Mount Vernon neighborhood, is a public art museum founded in 1934. The museum's collection was amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters , who began serious collecting when he moved to Paris at the outbreak of the American...

 - representing the abandoned Ariadne
Ariadne
Ariadne , in Greek mythology, was the daughter of King Minos of Crete, and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios, the Sun-titan. She aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and was the bride of the god Dionysus.-Minos and Theseus:...

, writhing in sadness and longing. Below is a link to an image and auction record of another Schuler piece of this type, recently sold at Christies in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

Other works by Schuler can be found at St. Mary's College of Maryland
St. Mary's College of Maryland
St. Mary's College of Maryland, established in 1840, is a public, secular liberal arts college located in St. Mary's City, Maryland. It is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges and designated as a Public Honors College . St. Mary's College is a small college, with about 2,000...

, Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

, National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (United States)
The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in Washington, D.C., administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous individual Americans.-Building:...

, Fogg Art Museum
Fogg Art Museum
The Fogg Museum, opened to the public in 1896, is the oldest of Harvard University's art museums. The Fogg joins the Busch-Reisinger Museum and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum as part of the Harvard Art Museums....

, Peabody Institute
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...

, Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

, Maryland Historical Society
Maryland Historical Society
The Maryland Historical Society , founded in 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The society "collects, preserves, and interprets objects and materials reflecting Maryland's diverse heritage." MdHS has a museum, library, holds educational programs, and publishes...

, University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

, St. John's College
St. John's College, U.S.
St. John's College is a liberal arts college with two U.S. campuses: one in Annapolis, Maryland and one in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Founded in 1696 as a preparatory school, King William's School, the school received a collegiate charter in 1784, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher...

 (Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...

), Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

, State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...

, (Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

 and Bronx), and in various parks in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. He is buried in Loudon Park National Cemetery
Loudon Park National Cemetery
Loudon Park National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 7,138 interments. It is currently closed to new interments, and is maintained by the Baltimore National Cemetery.- History :Loudon Park...

.

Schuler was a member of the National Sculpture Society
National Sculpture Society
Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members included several renowned architects. The founding...

 and exhibited in their 1923 exhibition.

Cemetery monuments

Like many of the successful sculptors of his day, Schuler created quite a few cemetery memorials. Many of these sculptures are life-sized or even larger than life-sized bronze human figures. Often the figures sit or sprawl across the tombstones in an attitude of grief, nostalgia, pensiveness, or anguish, like fellow mourners at the grave, or ghosts sociably mingling with the living, instead of being perched neatly on pedestals. The Riggs memorial, shown at right, is a good example. The Lanier monument pictured above, while not being a cemetery sculpture, also exemplifies Schuler's knack for presenting figures in this way. Most of the cemetery pieces are located in and around Baltimore. They include:
  • Key Memorial, Cathedral Cemetery
  • Hinrich Memorial, Druid Ridge Cemetery
    Druid Ridge Cemetery
    Druid Ridge Cemetery is located just outside the city of Baltimore in Pikesville, Maryland at 7900 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore Co., MD 21208. Among its monuments and graves are several noted sculptures by Hans Schuler and the final resting places of:...

  • Gail Memorial, Druid Ridge Cemetery
    Druid Ridge Cemetery
    Druid Ridge Cemetery is located just outside the city of Baltimore in Pikesville, Maryland at 7900 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore Co., MD 21208. Among its monuments and graves are several noted sculptures by Hans Schuler and the final resting places of:...

  • Schmidt Memorial, Druid Ridge Cemetery
    Druid Ridge Cemetery
    Druid Ridge Cemetery is located just outside the city of Baltimore in Pikesville, Maryland at 7900 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore Co., MD 21208. Among its monuments and graves are several noted sculptures by Hans Schuler and the final resting places of:...

  • Wagner-Lawyer Memorial, Druid Ridge Cemetery
    Druid Ridge Cemetery
    Druid Ridge Cemetery is located just outside the city of Baltimore in Pikesville, Maryland at 7900 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore Co., MD 21208. Among its monuments and graves are several noted sculptures by Hans Schuler and the final resting places of:...

  • Coates Memorial, Druid Ridge Cemetery
    Druid Ridge Cemetery
    Druid Ridge Cemetery is located just outside the city of Baltimore in Pikesville, Maryland at 7900 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore Co., MD 21208. Among its monuments and graves are several noted sculptures by Hans Schuler and the final resting places of:...

  • Baetjer Memorial, Greenmount Cemetery
    Greenmount Cemetery
    Green Mount Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as a large number of prominent Baltimore-area families...

  • Hilken Memorial, Greenmount Cemetery
    Greenmount Cemetery
    Green Mount Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as a large number of prominent Baltimore-area families...

  • Maulsby Memorial, Greenmount Cemetery
    Greenmount Cemetery
    Green Mount Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as a large number of prominent Baltimore-area families...

  • Riggs Memorial, Greenmount Cemetery
    Greenmount Cemetery
    Green Mount Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as a large number of prominent Baltimore-area families...

  • Mendels Memorial, Hebrew Cemetery
  • Oppenheim Memorial, Hebrew Cemetery
  • Krug Memorial, Loudon Park Cemetery
    Loudon Park Cemetery
    Loudon Park Cemetery a subsidiary of Stewart Enterprises, Inc., the second largest operator of funeral homes and cemeteries in the United States, is a cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated in 1853 on the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by a local merchant and politician...

  • Husted Memorial, Loudon Park Cemetery
    Loudon Park Cemetery
    Loudon Park Cemetery a subsidiary of Stewart Enterprises, Inc., the second largest operator of funeral homes and cemeteries in the United States, is a cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated in 1853 on the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by a local merchant and politician...

  • Nitze Memorial, Loudon Park Cemetery
    Loudon Park Cemetery
    Loudon Park Cemetery a subsidiary of Stewart Enterprises, Inc., the second largest operator of funeral homes and cemeteries in the United States, is a cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated in 1853 on the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by a local merchant and politician...

  • Kaiser Memorial, Loudon Park Cemetery
    Loudon Park Cemetery
    Loudon Park Cemetery a subsidiary of Stewart Enterprises, Inc., the second largest operator of funeral homes and cemeteries in the United States, is a cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated in 1853 on the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by a local merchant and politician...

  • Newcomes Memorial, Woodlawn Cemetery

External links

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