Bronze Bust of Morris Loeb by Karl Bitter

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Bronze Bust of Morris Loeb by Karl Bitter

About the Item

Glorious bronze bust with great sense of American history.

It depicts a strikingly handsome and bearded gentleman, Morris Loeb, designed by the prominent Austrian/American sculptor Karl Theodore Francis Bitter (1867-1915), and cast by the John Williams Bronze Foundry of New York.

The base inscribed Morris Loeb, A.b. Ph.D. SC. D , KARL BITTER
SC. and Jno Williams Inc/ Bronze Foundry, NY at rear right edge.

This bronze was cast in memory of Prof. Loeb (1863-1912), in 1914. It was commissioned by the American Chemistry Society to commemorate Loeb's teaching and his meaningful contributions to the field of chemistry. More specifically, the bust commemorates the financial legacy he left to Harvard for chemistry research; the fund he established at the American Chemical society for a chemistry museum; and to remind future generations of chemists of all that "...one of our generation dreamt, planned and did for them." (text and facts derived from the 1914 proceedings of the Journal of Industrial end Engineering Chemistry).

ABOUT THE SCULPTOR
Sculptor and architectural designer Karl Theodore Francis Bitter, was born in Vienna, Austria, December 6, 1867, and became a citizen of the United States in 1889. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. A classically-oriented sculptor influenced by the revival of interest in the Greeks and Romans, Bitter was extremely successful in his field. He created works for banks, courthouses, office buildings, museums, a state capitol, and churches, including New York City's Trinity Church, where his bronze doors made him famous.

Bitter exhibited in the history-making Armory Show, in New York City, in 1913, but, only two years later, was struck and killed by a car on leaving the Metropolitan Opera.

In 1890-1891, Bitter assisted architect Richard Morris Hunt in the design of the August Belmont tomb, Island Cemetery, Newport, Rhode Island. Bitter was often associated with Hunt, creating a number of sculptures for his buildings, including the French Renaissance style George Washington Vanderbilt "Biltmore Estate" outside of Ashville, North Carolina. A sculpture by Bitter adorned the central fountain, as well as numerous pieces inside and on the house, including figures of St. Louis and Joan of Arc on the exterior of the stair tower.

Bitter's marble "Symbols of Government," ca. 1907, featuring the Seal of the United States surmounted by an eagle and flanked by female angels, stands on the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, in New York City.

His final work was the bronze figure of "Abundance," 1915, atop the Pulitzer fountain in front of the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Due to his death, Bitter was unable to complete the fountain itself. Karl Gruppe, his assistant, finished the work.

In Philadelphia, Bitter created two sculptures of Dr. William Pepper, Provost of the University of Pennsylvania portrait bust and a seated statue in the Central Library of the Free Library. Also in Philadelphia, his "Spirit of Transportation," a very large high-relief work with multiple figures and horses, was sculpted in 1895 for the Broad Street Station, and moved in 1933 to the 30th Street Station when Broad Street was demolished.

Originally sculpted for the St. Paul Building in New York City, three five-foot tall statues of kneeling men, the "Races of Mankind," were removed to Holiday Park, in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1958. They were donated by the Western Electric Company when they demolished the building. Placed in a specially designed grotto, the setting is known as "The Ruins." Bitter had already designed Indianapolis's De Pew Fountain.

Bitter created a monumental sculpture of a "Standard-Bearer" on a rearing horse, from which casts were made and placed atop four towering pylons, marking the entrance to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, in 1901. Bitter was sculpture director for this Exposition, as well as for Expositions in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904, and San Francisco, California, in 1915. However, he was killed in an automobile accident in April, 1915.

Bitter was elected an Associate of the National Academy of Design, New York City, in 1902; an Academician in 1903, and he was president of the National Sculpture Society, New York City, in 1906-1907.

A book on "Karl Theodore Francis Bitter, Artist's Life: Rudolf Schwarz and Karl Bitter," was written by Theodore Stempfel and Eberhard Reichmann, and published by the Max Kade German-American Center and the Indiana German Heritage Society. Bitter is listed in Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers. He was elected an Associate of the National Academy of Design, New York City, in 1902; and Academician in 1903.

ABOUT THE FOUNDRY
It was often the foundry of choice for Daniel Chester French, Karl Bitter, Louis Amateis, R. Tait McKenzie, Allen George Newman, Augustus Lukeman, Roland Hinton Perry, J. Massey Rhind, Olin Levi Warner, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Edward Kemeys, Frederick MacMonnies, Charles Niehaus, J.Q.A. Ward, Carl Augustus Heber, Charles Keck, Andrew O'Connor, Alexander Phimister Proctor, Anton Schaaf, Francois Tonetti, Gaetan Trentanove and Albert Weinert. Their architectural work includes: Boston Public Library, Library of Congress, U.S. Capitol, Quadriga at Minnesota State Capitol, St. Bartholomew's Church, NYC, Tigers at Nassau Hall, Princeton University.

Dimensions:
Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 15 in (38.1 cm)Depth: 10 in (25.4 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
20th Century
Condition:
Seller Location:
San Francisco, CA
Reference Number:
Seller: DM-5631stDibs: U1112218783440