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Carl Kauba Folk Art

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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Creator: Carl Kauba
Bronze Sculpture Austrian Carl Kauba Rodeo Cowboy Marble, circa 1900
Bronze Sculpture Austrian Carl Kauba Rodeo Cowboy Marble, circa 1900

Bronze Sculpture Austrian Carl Kauba Rodeo Cowboy Marble, circa 1900

By Carl Kauba

Located in Hamilton, Ontario

Early 20th century bronze on Marble slab sculpture of a bronco rodeo cowboy on horse by Austrian artist Carl Kauba. Weighing a heavy 18 pounds with a solid marble base, Kauba has amazing intricate detail from the reins to the cowboys face and horses hoofs. Carl Kauba (1865-1922) Carl Kauba was born August 13, 1865 in Vienna, Austria. The son of a shoemaker, Kauba chose to follow his calling into the world of art. Collectors now rank him in a class with Remington and Russell as one of the great portrayers of American Western. His subjects were typically Native American Indians, Cavalrymen, Cowboys, and Roughriders. In addition to his American bronzes, Kauba produced a lifetime’s worth of Austrian statuary. His work became fully appreciated on both sides of the Atlantic. Carl studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna under professor Laufenberg. Later he would study at the academies under Carl Waschmann and Stefan Schwartz. Next, he went to Paris in 1886 to further study before he set off for the U.S. Kauba’s fascination with the West was fired by the stories of the German writer, Carl May, whose tales of Western adventure were well known throughout Europe. Most authorities feel that he was about twenty-five years old when he traveled widely throughout the American West. He then returned to Austria with voluminous notes, sketches, and several models of Western sculpture...

Category

Early 20th Century Austrian Carl Kauba Folk Art

Materials

Marble, Bronze

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Carl Kauba folk art for sale on 1stDibs.

Carl Kauba folk art are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of stone and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Carl Kauba folk art, although gold editions of this piece are particularly popular. Prices for Carl Kauba folk art can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $4,500 and can go as high as $4,500, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $4,500.