Carl Kauba Figurative Sculptures
Austrian, 1865-1922
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.
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Artist: Carl Kauba
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
Category
Early 20th Century Carl Kauba Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
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...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Carl Kauba Figurative Sculptures
Materials
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...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Carl Kauba Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Price Upon Request
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Carl Kauba figurative sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Carl Kauba figurative sculptures available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Carl Kauba in bronze, metal and more. Not every interior allows for large Carl Kauba figurative sculptures, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Pierre Jules Mêne, Gary Sczerbaniewicz, and Ivan Zanoni. Carl Kauba figurative sculptures prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $26,000 and tops out at $26,000, while the average work can sell for $26,000.