J. Otto Schweizer
Encyclopedia
Biography
Born in ZurichZürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, 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.
He was a member of Philadelphia's German Society of Pennsylvania
German Society of Pennsylvania
The German Society of Pennsylvania, located in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia, is the oldest German-culture organization in the United States. Founded in 1764, to aid German immigrants and indentured servants, it now promotes the teaching of the German language and culture,...
, 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.
He created 7 sculptures for the Gettysburg Battlefield
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
, more than any other artist. Among these was a larger-than-life statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Pennsylvania State Memorial
The Pennsylvania State Memorial
The Pennsylvania State Memorial is an American Civil War monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield, that commemorates the 34,530 Pennsylvania soldiers who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and are listed on the Bronze tablets on the monument's walls....
. 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. His only equestrian statue, Baron von Steuben (1921), is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He modeled dozens of busts, bas-reliefs and medalions, and exhibited at the 1916 continuation of the Panama–Pacific International Exposition
Panama–Pacific International Exposition
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery...
in San Francisco, California. His All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers (1934) is now in Philadelphia's Logan Square
Logan Square
Logan Square is the name of:* Logan Square, Chicago – community on the north side of the city* Logan Circle or Logan Square – open-space park**Logan Square, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, adjacent neighborhood...
.
Selected works
- Civil War Monument (1909), Colorado State CapitolColorado State CapitolThe Colorado State Capitol Building, located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado and Lieutenant Governor of Colorado. The building is intentionally reminiscent of the United States Capitol. Designed...
, Denver, Colorado, with Captain John D. Howland. - Statue of General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (1910-11), Philadelphia Museum of Art Sculpture GardenPhiladelphia Museum of ArtThe Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. - Statue of Baron von Steuben (1912-14), Utica, New York. A 1915 replica of this with bas-relief is at Valley Forge National Historical ParkValley Forge National Historical ParkValley Forge National Historical Park is the site where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–1778 near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the American Revolutionary War. The National Historical Park preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment. ...
. - Bust of Joseph Johns (1913), Central Park, Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
- Monument to Confederate Women (1913), Arkansas State CapitolArkansas State CapitolThe Arkansas State Capitol Building, located in Little Rock, is the main house of government of the state of Arkansas.-History:In 1899, the St. Louis architect George R. Mann visited the governor of Arkansas Daniel W. Jones, and presented his drawings of his winning competition design for the...
, Little Rock, Arkansas. - James Bartram Nicholson (1913), Mount Peace Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Relief bust of General John P. Taylor (1914), Church Hill Cemetery, Reedsville, Pennsylvania.
- Molly PitcherMolly PitcherMolly Pitcher was a nickname given to a woman said to have fought in the American Revolutionary War, who is generally believed to have been Mary Ludwig Hays...
Monument (1916), Old Graveyard, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. - Reverend Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Monument (1917), Lutheran Theological SeminaryLutheran Theological Seminary at PhiladelphiaThe Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia is one of eight seminaries associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America , located in Philadelphia . It was founded in 1864 but traces its roots further back to the first Lutheran establishment in Philadelphia founded by Henry Melchior...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. - Statue of President James A. Garfield (1918), Long Branch, New Jersey.
- Statue of Senator George T. Oliver (19__), Rotunda, Pennsylvania State CapitolPennsylvania State CapitolThe Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is in downtown Harrisburg. It was designed in 1902 in a Beaux-Arts style with Renaissance themes throughout...
, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. - Statue of General Thomas J. Stewart (19__), Rotunda, Pennsylvania State CapitolPennsylvania State CapitolThe Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is in downtown Harrisburg. It was designed in 1902 in a Beaux-Arts style with Renaissance themes throughout...
, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. - Fort Stevens Monument and Marker (1920), Fort StevensFort StevensFort Stevens may refer to one of two decommissioned American military forts:*Fort Stevens , a fort in Oregon that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River...
, Washington, DC. - Equestrian statue of Baron von Steuben (1921), Washington Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- American Eagle (World War I Memorial) (1923), Chelten Square, E. Chelten Ave. & Wister St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Lily Pond Railing (surrounding George FramptonGeorge FramptonSir George James Frampton, RA was a notable British sculptor and leading member of the New Sculpture movement.-Early life and career:...
's Peter Pan statue) (1930), Johnson Park, Camden, New Jersey. - All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers (1934), Logan SquareLogan SquareLogan Square is the name of:* Logan Square, Chicago – community on the north side of the city* Logan Circle or Logan Square – open-space park**Logan Square, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, adjacent neighborhood...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Moved from West Fairmount ParkFairmount ParkFairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
. - The Last Supper (1940s?), Mount Hope Cemetery, Topeka, Kansas.
Gettysburg Battlefield
- President Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
(1913), Pennsylvania State MemorialThe Pennsylvania State MemorialThe Pennsylvania State Memorial is an American Civil War monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield, that commemorates the 34,530 Pennsylvania soldiers who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and are listed on the Bronze tablets on the monument's walls....
. - General David McMurtrie GreggDavid McMurtrie GreggDavid McMurtrie Gregg was a farmer, diplomat, and a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
(1913), Pennsylvania State MemorialThe Pennsylvania State MemorialThe Pennsylvania State Memorial is an American Civil War monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield, that commemorates the 34,530 Pennsylvania soldiers who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and are listed on the Bronze tablets on the monument's walls....
. - General Alfred PleasontonAlfred PleasontonAlfred Pleasonton was a United States Army officer and General of Union cavalry during the American Civil War. He commanded the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac during the Gettysburg Campaign, including the largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war, Brandy Station...
(1913), Pennsylvania State MemorialThe Pennsylvania State MemorialThe Pennsylvania State Memorial is an American Civil War monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield, that commemorates the 34,530 Pennsylvania soldiers who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and are listed on the Bronze tablets on the monument's walls....
. - General William WellsWilliam Wells (general)-Medal of Honor:Wells commanded the Second Battalion, 1st Vermont Cavalry, in the repulse of Stuart's Cavalry at the Battle of Hanover during the Gettysburg Campaign...
(1913), South Confederate Avenue. A 1914 replica of this is at Battery Park, Burlington, Vermont. - General John Geary (c. 1914), Culp's Hill.
- General Alexander HaysAlexander HaysAlexander Hays was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, killed in the Battle of the Wilderness.-Early life and career:...
(c. 1914), Ziegler's Grove. - General Andrew A. HumphreysAndrew A. HumphreysAndrew Atkinson Humphreys , was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union General in the American Civil War. He served in senior positions in the Army of the Potomac, including division command, chief of staff, and corps command, and was Chief Engineer of the U.S...
(c. 1914), Emmitsburg Road.
Union League of Philadelphia
- President Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
(1915-17). - Relief bust of General George Gordon Meade (1914-17).
- Relief bust of General William T. Sherman (1914-17).
- Relief bust of General George H. Thomas (1914-17).
- Relief bust of Admiral David G. Farragut (1914-17).
- Relief bust of General Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
(1914-17). - Relief bust of General Phillip H. Sheridan (1914-17).
- Relief bust of General Winfield S. Hancock (1914-17).
- Relief bust of General David McMurtrie GreggDavid McMurtrie GreggDavid McMurtrie Gregg was a farmer, diplomat, and a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
(1914-17).