E. Spencer Schubert (also known as E.S. Schubert) is an American artist and sculptor known for his busts and

monumental sculpture The term monumental sculpture is often used in art history and criticism, but not always consistently. It combines two concepts, one of function, and one of size, and may include an element of a third more subjective concept. It is often used for ...

. He has created monuments for a variety of cities, universities and private collections including three monumental sculptures of town founders in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

, the ''Sacred Heart of Jesus'' sculpture for

Benedictine College Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for ...

and a sculpture of football coach

Bill Snyder William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the p ...

for

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

Biography

Schubert initially trained as a

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

before becoming interested in sculpture while studying at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. After graduating, he spent "three to four years working in a basement perfecting the skill of making clay look like people" before launching his studio. Since 2011, he has sculpted a majority of the new inductees to the

Hall of Famous Missourians The Hall of Famous Missourians is located in Jefferson City, Missouri. The hall is a series of privately funded bronze busts displayed in the Missouri State Capitol between the Missouri Senate and House chambers. The busts, created by Missouri ...

. Schubert has cited the work of French sculptor

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

as a significant influence on his style. When sculpting real persons, Schubert studies the personalities of his subjects to learn about the "undefinable things that have nothing to do with the length of his femur." He is interested in

Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century Common Era, BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asser ...

and has created a series of busts of Stoic philosophers including

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...

and Marcus Aurelius.

Career

Schubert's busts for the Hall of Famous Missourians include sculptures of plaintiff

Dred Scott Dred Scott (c. 1799 – September 17, 1858) was an Slavery in the United States, enslaved African Americans, African American man who, along with his wife, Harriet Robinson Scott, Harriet, unsuccessfully sued for freedom for themselves and thei ...

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

coach

Buck O'Neil John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first Afric ...

, science fiction author

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

, country music singer

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Po ...

and creator of the Missouri state flag Marie Oliver. He was at the center of controversy when, in 2012, he was hired to sculpt the politically-charged Limbaugh. Schubert received "700 angry messages of some sort" condemning him for creating the sculpture and "assuming he was an advocate of Limbaugh's." In response, he criticized the idea that artists cannot create portraits of figures with whom they disagree, saying that "if it were left to sculptors to choose who was honored with portraits, the entire history of portraiture would look dramatically different." The bust is on display in the

Missouri State Capitol The Missouri State Capitol is the home of the Missouri General Assembly and the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Missouri. Located in Jefferson City at 201 West Capitol Avenue, it is the third capitol to be built in the city. ( ...

. In 2013, Kansas State University unveiled Schubert's 1,800-pound bronze sculpture of football coach Bill Snyder, which stands at the entrance of

Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium Bill Snyder Family Stadium is a stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. It is used for American football, and is the home field of the Kansas State University Wildcats football team. It is named after the family of head coach Bill Snyder. Over the past 31 ...

. The university uses the statue to host endurance competitions in which students must touch the statue continuously for 31 hours. Schubert's 2016 sculpture ''Sacred Heart of Jesus'', created for Benedictine College, was modeled on the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin ( it, Sindone di Torino), also known as the Holy Shroud ( it, Sacra Sindone, links=no or ), is a length of linen cloth bearing the negative image of a man. Some describe the image as depicting Jesus of Nazareth and bel ...

and depicts fourteen folds representing the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

. In response to a Confederate statue being removed from his city in 2017, Schubert offered to donate a replacement sculpture that would represent unity and uplift the community. In 2019, Schubert designed the three sculptures serving as the centerpiece of Gateway Park in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The statues were of local heroes Judge Issac Parker, educator John Carnall, and Mother Superior Mary Teresa Farrell. That year, he also designed and produced a statue of William Webb for the

Webb Institute Webb Institute is a private college focused on engineering and located in Glen Cove, New York. Each graduate of Webb Institute earns a Bachelor of Science degree in naval architecture and marine engineering. Successful candidates for admission r ...

Glen Cove, New York Glen Cove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island. At the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 28,365 as of th ...

. Spencer partnered with

Ryan Holiday Ryan Holiday (born June 16, 1987) is an American author, modern Stoic, public-relations strategist, owner of the Painted Porch Bookshop and host of the podcast ''The Daily Stoic.'' Prior to becoming an author, he served as the former director of ...

and The Daily Stoic on a bust of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

."We All Need Monuments to Guide Us"
''The Daily Stoic''. Retrieved 2019-12-10. File:Buck_O%27Neil_bust.jpg, Sculpture bust of Buck O'Neil in Hall of Famous Missourians File:Bill Snyder sculpture Kansas State.jpg, Sculpture of Coach Bill Snyder at Kansas State University File:Sacred Heart of Jesus Benedictine.jpg, Sculpture of Sacred Heart of Jesus. Monument at Benedictine College, Atchison File:Judge Isaac Parker Fort Smith AR.jpg, Monument of Judge Isaac Parker at Gateway Park, Fort Smith, Arkansas File:William Webb sculpture.jpg, Sculpture of William Webb at the Webb Institute, Glen Cove, New York

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schubert, E. Spencer 21st-century American sculptors Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Kansas alumni