Charles Henry Niehaus

Charles Henry Niehaus in 1896

Charles Henry Niehaus (January 24, 1855 – June 19, 1935), was an American sculptor.

Education

Niehaus was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to German parents.[1] He began working as a marble and wood carver, and then gained entrance to the McMicken School of Design in Cincinnati. He studied at the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany (1877–81). The effect of the German study was that he retained much of the Neo-Classical flavor in his art while most other sculptors of his generation were drawn towards Beaux-Arts realism.

Career

He returned to America in 1881. By virtue of being a native Ohioan, he was commissioned to sculpt two statues of the recently assassinated President Garfield; one for Cincinnati (Garfield's home city), and the other, in another pose, for the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol. He moved to Rome, Italy, where he worked on the commissions, and made a study of ancient sculpture. He modeled three major male nudes during his years in Rome, including The Scraper (1883) and Caestus (1883-85). He returned to New York City in 1885, and opened a studio.[2]

In 1887, he created a statue of Ohioan William Allen, also for Statuary Hall. In later years, he was to place statues of Oliver P. Morton of Indiana (1900), John J. Ingalls of Kansas (1905), Zachariah Chandler of Michigan (1913), George W. Glick of Kansas (1914), Ephraim McDowell of Kentucky (1929), and Henry Clay of Kentucky (1929) in the collection.

Monuments by Niehaus can be found in many American cities. Several of the works authored by him are equestrian statues. As was the case with other sculptors of his day he also fashioned a fair amount of architectural sculpture.

In 1900 Niehaus married noted horticulturalist Regina Armstrong and moved to New Rochelle, New York.[3]

A resident of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, Niehaus died at his home there on June 19, 1935.[4]

Selected works

The Driller (1901), Edwin Drake Memorial, Titusville, Pennsylvania.
Apotheosis of St. Louis (1906), Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri.

United States Capitol

Triumph of Law (1896-1900), Appellate Court House, New York City
Davenport Preaching at New Haven (1895), Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford, Connecticut

Niehaus had eight statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., a record for a sculptor. However, in 2003, Kansas replaced his George W. Glick statue with one of Dwight D. Eisenhower, and in 2011, Michigan replaced his Zachariah Chandler statue with one of Gerald R. Ford. His remaining six statues are still more than any other sculptor has in the Hall.[17]

There are also two busts by Niehaus in other collections:

Architectural sculpture

Notes

  1. ↑ Clark, S. J. (1912). Cincinnati, the Queen City, 1788-1912, Volume 2. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 19. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  2. ↑ 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
  3. ↑ "Regina Armstrong (NY Times & Standard Star articles provided)". Home.comcast.net. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  4. ↑ Staff. "CHARLES H. NIEHAUS, NOTED SCULPTOR, DIES; Designed the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Baltimore and Many Washington Statues.", The New York Times, June 20, 1935. Accessed September 10, 2017. "CLIFFSIDE PARK, N. J. - Charles Henry Niehaus, noted sculptor of the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Baltimore and the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial at Newark, N. J., died 8 o'clock tonight at his home, 40 Grant Avenue. He was 80 years old."
  5. ↑ The Scraper from SIRIS.
  6. ↑ Caestus from Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  7. ↑ Moses from Library of Congress.
  8. ↑ Edward Gibbon from Library of Congress.
  9. ↑ Buffalo Lincoln from Buffalo History Museum.
  10. ↑ Farragut Monument from SIRIS.
  11. ↑ McKinley Monument from SIRIS.
  12. ↑ Beardsley statue from CT Monuments.
  13. ↑ Commodore Perry from SIRIS.
  14. ↑ "Commodore Perry". Novan.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  15. ↑ Special to The New York Times. (1916-05-18). "Key Memorial Approved, NY Times" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  16. ↑ Hackensack War Monument from SIRIS.
  17. ↑ National Statuary Hall Collection from Architect of the Capitol.
  18. ↑ Garfield bust from U.S. Senate.
  19. ↑ Tompkins bust from U.S. Senate.

References

  • Bzdak, Meredith Arms, photographs by Douglas Peterson, Public Sculpture in New Jersey: Monuments to Collective identity, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1999
  • Connecticut State Capitol Statuary, The League of Women Voters of Connenticut: Education Fund
  • Hardin Campen, Richard N., Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio: A Comprehensive Overview of Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio, Mid-Nineteenth Century to the Present, West Summit Press, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, 1980
  • Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, Architectural Sculpture of America, unpublished manuscript
  • Opitz, Glenn B, Editor, Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers, Apollo Book, Poughkeepsie NY, 1986
  • Proske, Beatrice Gilman, Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture, Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina, 1968
  • Wikisource Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Niehaus, Charles Henry". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  •  "Niehaus, Charles Henry". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
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