Austrian sculptor Carl Kauba was fascinated by the American West, creating dynamic cast bronze sculptures of cowboys, Native Americans and buffalo. Between 1895 and 1912, his polychrome pieces captured the attention of an American audience, while his domestic statutory work in Austria helped solidify his artistic reputation.
He was born the son of a shoemaker in 1865 in Vienna, Austria. He later studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna before learning from sculptor Karl Waschmann and sculptor and medallist Stefan Schwartz.
Although some accounts have Kauba traveling to the United States to create models and sketches, scholars have questioned the inaccuracies in his work’s weapon detailing and equestrian costumes. Kauba loved the Western tales of German author Karl May and was known to have a friend in Ohio who mailed him costume material, all of which may have provided his references for art.
Kauba’s bronze work is recognized as exceptional Viennese craftsmanship imbued with artistic intricacies and realism. His sculptures of cavalrymen, cowboys and Indigenous people from the American West put him in the same category as titans of American Western art like Frederic Remington and Charles Marion Russell.
Original Carl Kauba art experienced a resurgence in popularity during a 1950s advertising campaign for Latendorfer in New York. His works have remained prized by Wild West collectors everywhere.
Kauba’s art has been exhibited at many American art galleries, including the Thomas Nygard Gallery in Montana and the Ophir Gallery in New Jersey.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Carl Kauba decorative objects, collectibles and more.
A metamorphic figure of a 'Nuremberg Iron Maiden'
By Carl Kauba
Located in London, England
Carl Kauba (1865-1922) was an Austrian sculptor who was born in Vienna, where he later studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and subsequently travelled to Paris to study his craft furt...
Bronze
The Scout
By Carl Kauba
Located in New York, NY
CARL KAUBA Austrian, (1865-1922) The Scout Patinated bronze; Signed ‘C. Kauba’ 30 1/4 x 13 1/2 inches
Bronze
Price Upon Request
Going into Battle
By Carl Kauba
Located in Missouri, MO
Carl Kauba "Going into Battle" c. 1920s Bronze with Brown Patina Signed approx 10 x 10 x 4 (including wooden base) This Austrian sculptor was born in Vienna in 1865. His teachers were Karl Waschmann (1848-1905), known for his ivory sculptures and portrait plaquettes of contemporary celebrities, and Stefan Schwartz (1851-1924), who exhibited in Paris, including the Exposition Universelle of 1900 where he won a gold medal. Kauba's intricate bronzes, imported to the United States between 1895 and 1912, were cast at the Roman Bronze Works. Kauba was part of the nineteenth-century tradition of polychrome bronze sculpture. There were several types of patinas on a single statue: he could render the color of buckskin, variously tinted shirts, blankets, feathers, as well as beaded moccasins. Reportedly, Kauba came to America around 1886. Inspired by the Western tales of German author Karl May, he traveled to the West and made sketches and models. Critics, however, pointed out inaccuracies of costume and other details. For instance, the guns that his "mid-nineteenth-century" figures use are models produced after 1898. Apparently he did all of his works back in Vienna. Besides the variety of color, Kauba's bronzes show a great range of textures and his style is highly naturalistic. The sculptor loved ornament, some of which he rendered with coiled wire for reins, rope and feathers in headdresses. He successfully rendered figures in motion and often executed compositions with more than one figure. Berman (1974) illustrates non-Western subjects by Kaula, such as the pendants Where? and There (ca. 1910), a seated Scottish couple, impressive in the expressions and the details on patterned fabrics of both sitters. Another genre piece is Buster Brown...
Bronze
Price Upon Request
Native American in Canoe
By Carl Kauba
Located in Missouri, MO
Carl Kauba (1865-1922) "Native American in Canoe" Polychrome Bronze Signed approx 5.5 x 10 x 2.75 inches This Austrian sculptor was born in Vienna in 1865. His teachers were Karl Waschmann (1848-1905), known for his ivory sculptures and portrait plaquettes of contemporary celebrities, and Stefan Schwartz (1851-1924), who exhibited in Paris, including the Exposition Universelle of 1900 where he won a gold medal. Kauba's intricate bronzes, imported to the United States between 1895 and 1912, were cast at the Roman Bronze Works. Kauba was part of the nineteenth-century tradition of polychrome bronze sculpture. There were several types of patinas on a single statue: he could render the color of buckskin, variously tinted shirts, blankets, feathers, as well as beaded moccasins. Reportedly, Kauba came to America around 1886. Inspired by the Western tales of German author Karl May, he traveled to the West and made sketches and models. Critics, however, pointed out inaccuracies of costume and other details. For instance, the guns that his "mid-nineteenth-century" figures use are models produced after 1898. Apparently he did all of his works back in Vienna. Besides the variety of color, Kauba's bronzes show a great range of textures and his style is highly naturalistic. The sculptor loved ornament, some of which he rendered with coiled wire for reins, rope and feathers in headdresses. He successfully rendered figures in motion and often executed compositions with more than one figure. Berman (1974) illustrates non-Western subjects by Kaula, such as the pendants Where? and There (ca. 1910), a seated Scottish couple, impressive in the expressions and the details on patterned fabrics of both sitters. Another genre piece is Buster Brown...
Bronze
$4,945
H 24.02 in W 7.09 in D 4.53 in
Mother Happiness / - The ecstasy of maternal joy -
Located in Berlin, DE
Johannes Boese (1856 Ostrog - 1917 Berlin), Mutterglück, um 1910. Goldbraun patinierte Bronze auf gegossener rechteckiger Plinthe, montiert auf zweifarbigem Marmorsockel (9,5 cm Höhe...
Bronze
Commute (man)
By Jim Rennert
Located in Greenwich, CT
Edition of 9 American, b. 1958 National Sculpture Society Fellow Jim Rennert was born in 1958, and grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Salt Lake City, Utah. After ten trying years o...
Bronze
Bronze sculpture of 'Rapunzel' from German fairytale by Carl Payne
By Carl Payne
Located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire
A stunning Nude Bronze Sculpture 'Rapunzel' with inspiration taken from the German fairytale. Continuing a successful career in England and Ireland, Carl joined Callaghan Fine Paintings and Works of Art at the beginning of 2004 in order to dedicate his time to create and develop stunning individual contemporary sculpture. Carl is a Staffordshire based sculptor for whom art has played a large part in his academic work taking him through the Burslem School of Art, the Henry Doulton School of Sculpture and then to Stafford College. After qualifying in Figurative Sculpture he launched his career with commission after commission, which has now secured his reputation for fine quality workmanship both in life-size format and smaller decorative pieces. The list of his completed commissioned work is extensive, including many ‘house-hold’ names from the sporting world, commerce and the past. The following are just some of the private and publicly commissioned completed works that form Carl’s prestigious portfolio:- King George 5th and Queen Mary – life size portrait buste commissioned by Cunards Cruise Ships and located in the ballroom of the Queen Mary 2 (QM2) cruise ship. Randolph Turpin – life size and a quarter - commissioned by Warwick and Leamington Spa Council located in Warwick Town Centre, Sir Stanley Matthews – life size and a half - commissioned by the Sir Stanley Matthews Foundation located at The Britannia Stadium. The Stadium of Light - life size group of figures – commissioned by Sunderland Football Club...
Bronze
$764
H 11.82 in W 7.88 in D 5.52 in
Bust of a young woman / - The Opulence of Beauty -
Located in Berlin, DE
Anton Nelson (i.e. Antoine Joseph van den Kerckhoven) (1849 Brussels - after 1910 ibid.), Bust of a young woman, c. 1890. Patinated bronze on cast base, 30 cm (total height) x 20 cm ...
Bronze
$11,177
H 13 in W 25.6 in D 13 in
Art Nouveau Italian Signed Dated and Inscribed Original Bronze
By Constantino Barbella
Located in Roma, IT
Wonderful Art Nouveau "Ebrezza" bronze sculpture of a woman lying on a bed of roses. It bears at the base the signature Barbella and the wording “Rome Palm Sunday 31 III 1912” Brand...
Bronze
Cheval Libre (Free Horse)
By Pierre Jules Mêne
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: After Pierre Jules Mene (French, 1810-1879) Title: Cheval Libre (Free Horse) Year: 1868 Medium: Cast bronze sculpture with dark brown patina Edition: Unknown Size: Inclu...
Bronze
$15,500
H 26.25 in W 8 in D 11.3 in
Die Trinkende Bronze Sculpture, Realist Style, Circa 1900, Unframed
By Victor Heinrich Seifert
Located in New York, NY
Victor Heinrich Seifert (1870 – 1953) Die Trinkende, c. 1900, cast 1906 H 26.25 in. x W 8 in. x D 11.38 inch Bronze with brown patina Original stone pedestal with 1906 inscribed on ...
Bronze
$5,950
H 11 in W 6 in
20th Century Solid Bronze Nude Ballet Dancer 'Preparation' by Benson Landes
By Benson Landes
Located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire
'Preparation' is a 20th Century Solid Bronze ballet Dancer by Benson Landes. For Benson Landes, sculpture was most definitely a passion. His oeuvre of cast bronzes is populated wit...
Bronze
Sold|$3,382
H 11.82 in W 3.94 in D 3.15 in
Grand Tour sculpture “Archer”, Otto Lessing, gilt bronze and onyx, Germany
Located in Valladolid, ES
One of a kind and masterpiece sculpture “Archer” (“Bogenschütze,” original German title) in gilt bronze, a work by Otto Lessing, based on an original design from 1908. Many small-sc...
Marble, Bronze
$5,412
H 6.7 in W 15.36 in D 6.3 in
Toro - Bronze sculpture of a bull attacking figurativ artwork by Günay Aliev
Located in Schierensee, SH
"Toro" is a unique bronze scultpure (2024) of Bulgarian mid career artist Günay Aliev. In this scultpure the artist depicts a forceful bull attacking. The bronze comes with a grani...
Bronze
$880Sale Price|20% Off
H 11.42 in W 3.55 in D 3.94 in
Art Nouveau sculpture “Woman blowing bubbles”, Bronze and marble, Germany
Located in Valladolid, ES
Gorgeous Sculpture “Woman blowing bubbles”, Bronze and marble, Art Nouveau, 1920 – Germany Refined antique solid bronze sculpture depicting a woman blowing bubbles. This piece is of...
Marble, Bronze
$5,950
H 20 in W 6 in
'Lazy Summer on Sphere' a Contemporary Nude Figurative Bronze Sculpture
By Carl Payne
Located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire
'Lazy Summer on Sphere' by Carl Payne is a stunning Contemporary Nude Bronze Sculpture. Continuing a successful career in England and Ireland, Carl joined Callaghan Fine Paintings and Works of Art at the beginning of 2004 in order to dedicate his time to create and develop stunning individual contemporary sculpture. Carl is a Staffordshire based sculptor for whom art has played a large part in his academic work taking him through the Burslem School of Art, the Henry Doulton School of Sculpture and then to Stafford College. After qualifying in Figurative Sculpture he launched his career with commission after commission which has now secured his reputation for fine quality workmanship both in life-size format and smaller decorative pieces. The list of his completed commissioned work is extensive, including many ‘house-hold’ names from the sporting world, commerce and the past. The following are just some of the private and publicly commissioned completed works that form Carl’s prestigious portfolio:- King George 5th and Queen Mary – life size portrait buste commissioned by Cunards Cruise Ships and located in the ballroom of the Queen Mary 2...
Bronze
Carl Kauba "Desperado" Patinated Bronze Sculpture
By Carl Kauba
Located in Astoria, NY
Carl Kauba (Austrian, 1865-1922) "Desperado" Patinated Bronze Sculpture, 20th century, the U.S. Cavalryman and his horse mounted on a rocky outcrop, signed, and stamped "Austria", on...
Bronze
Sold
H 10.7 in W 5 in D 4 in
Carl Kauba Bronze Figure of "Justitia" Seated Woman with Sword
By Carl Kauba
Located in Dallas, TX
Wonderful and rare original Carl Kauba (1865-1922) gilt bronze of a Lady with sword and law book titled "Justitia" Signed: C Kauba and Geschutzt 4889. Height: 10.7 Inches with mar...
Bronze
Study Aim
By Carl Kauba
Located in Missouri, MO
Carl Kauba "Study Aim" c. 1920 Bronze with Brown Patina Signed approx. 9.5 x 10 x 4 This Austrian sculptor was born in Vienna in 1865. His teachers were Karl Waschmann (1848-1905), known for his ivory sculptures and portrait plaquettes of contemporary celebrities, and Stefan Schwartz (1851-1924), who exhibited in Paris, including the Exposition Universelle of 1900 where he won a gold medal. Kauba's intricate bronzes, imported to the United States between 1895 and 1912, were cast at the Roman Bronze Works. Kauba was part of the nineteenth-century tradition of polychrome bronze sculpture. There were several types of patinas on a single statue: he could render the color of buckskin, variously tinted shirts, blankets, feathers, as well as beaded moccasins. Reportedly, Kauba came to America around 1886. Inspired by the Western tales of German author Karl May, he traveled to the West and made sketches and models. Critics, however, pointed out inaccuracies of costume and other details. For instance, the guns that his "mid-nineteenth-century" figures use are models produced after 1898. Apparently he did all of his works back in Vienna. Besides the variety of color, Kauba's bronzes show a great range of textures and his style is highly naturalistic. The sculptor loved ornament, some of which he rendered with coiled wire for reins, rope and feathers in headdresses. He successfully rendered figures in motion and often executed compositions with more than one figure. Berman (1974) illustrates non-Western subjects by Kaula, such as the pendants Where? and There (ca. 1910), a seated Scottish couple, impressive in the expressions and the details on patterned fabrics of both sitters. Another genre piece is Buster Brown...
Bronze
The Treasure Seeker
By Carl Kauba
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Carl Kauba Austrian, (1865-1922) The Treasure Seeker Bronze, signed Height: 7½ inches Width: 5¾ inches Depth: 2¾ inches An early 20th cent...
Bronze