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Charles Henry Niehaus

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

Early life and education

Niehaus was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to German parents. 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 (1877–1881). 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 James Garfield; one for Cincinnati, 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 (1883-1885). He returned to New York City in 1885, and opened a studio.

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. His work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.

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.

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

Selected works

United States Capitol

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 statue of George Washington Glick with one of Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 2011, Michigan replaced his statue of Zachariah Chandler with one of Gerald R. Ford, in 2016, Ohio replaced his statue of William Allen with one of Thomas Edison, and, in 2022, Kansas replaced his statue of John James Ingalls with one of Amelia Earhart. His remaining four statues are still more than any other sculptor has in the Hall.

There are also two busts by Niehaus in other collections:

Architectural sculpture

Gallery

Notes

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

External links