Frederick Wellington Ruckstull, German: ''Friedrich Ruckstuhl'' (May 22, 1853 – May 26, 1942) was a French-born American

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and art critic.

Life and career

Born ''Ruckstuhl'' in Breitenbach,

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, France, his family moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, in 1855. He worked at a variety of unsatisfying jobs until his early twenties when an art exhibition in St. Louis inspired him to become a sculptor. He studied art locally, visited

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and then worked for years as a toy store clerk to save enough to study in Paris for three years. In 1885, Ruckstull entered the Académie Julian, and studied under

Gustave Boulanger Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger (25 April 1824 – 22 September 1888) was a French figurative painter and academic artist and teacher known for his Classical and Orientalist subjects. Education and career The Néo-Grecs and the Prix de Rom ...

Camille Lefèvre Camille Lefèvre (1853–1933) was a French sculptor. Biography Born in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in 1870 Lefèvre became a pupil of Jules Cavelier at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1878, he won the second Prix de ...

, Jean Dampt and Antonin Mercié. He considered studying with Auguste Rodin, but claimed to be disgusted with his style. On returning to U.S. in 1892, Ruckstull opened a studio in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. His work ''Evening'' won the grand medal for sculpture at the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

. As a result of this national exposure, he was commissioned to make an equestrian statue of Major-General John F. Hartranft for the Pennsylvania State University. In 1893, Ruckstull was appointed to teach modeling and marble carving at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art Schools The Metropolitan Museum of Art Schools were a series of educational programs established by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to provide vocational training in the late 19th century. History The Metropolitan Museum of Art embarked its first educationa ...

in New York City. He was also deeply involved with creating Confederate memorial sculpture, forging a sculptural iconography for the Southern ideology of the Lost Cause. Ruckstull was a founding member of the

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members ...

as well as the editor of the conservative magazine ''Art World,'' where he wrote under the pseudonym Petronius Arbiter, a reference to the ''Satyricon''. In the spring of 1917, he wrote a manifesto inveighing against degenerate modernist art, where he attacked both the artworks and the artists, using racist tropes and the quasi-medical language of physiognomy to attack them. In 1925 he wrote the book ''Great Works of Art and What Makes Them Great,'' a collection of essays he had published previously, which has recently been reprinted. His sculpture was in the figurative

Beaux-Arts style Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpor ...

, with its realism, and detailed modeling. He and other prominent sculptors of the era such as Daniel Chester French championed the French style of studio system teaching, art societies, and exhibitions. Following the

Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...

of 1913, he continued to represent the old guard of academic sculpture, a perspective clearly expressed in his book. Ruckstull married in 1896 and had one son. He died at his home in New York on May 26, 1942, four days after his 89th birthday, and was cremated.

Works

''Evening''

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

* ''Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument'', also known as ''Victory'' or the ''Peace Monument'', in Major John Mark Park, Jamaica, Queens, New York City (1896) *

Statue of Wade Hampton III ''Wade Hampton III'' is a 1929 marble sculpture depicting the military officer and politician of the same name by Frederick Ruckstull, installed in the United States Capitol, in Washington D.C., as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. ...

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old ...

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

(1929) *

Wade Hampton Wade Hampton may refer to the following people: People * Wade Hampton I (1752–1835), American soldier in Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and U.S. congressman *Wade Hampton II (1791–1858), American plantation owner and soldier in War of 1812 * ...

, equestrian statue

South Carolina State House The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, which includes the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Located in th ...

grounds (1906)
''Solon''
Reading Room,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

* ''Wisdom'' an
''Force''

Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State The Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State, First Department (also known as Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York) is a historic court house located at 35 East 25th Street at the corner of Madison Avenue, acro ...

* ''Altar to Liberty: Minerva'',

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...

, Brooklyn, NY (1920) * ''Dongan Oak Monument'',

Battle Pass In the video game industry, a battle pass is a type of monetization approach that provides additional content for a game usually through a tiered system, rewarding the player with in-game items for playing the game and completing specific chal ...

, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY (1922)
Busts
front portico, Library of Congress * ''

Uriah Milton Rose Uriah Milton Rose (March 5, 1834 – August 12, 1913) was an American lawyer and Confederate sympathizer. "Approachable, affable, and kind," graceful and courteous, he was called "the most scholarly lawyer in America" and "one of the leading ...

'',

United States Capitol
John F. Hartranft
Pa. Capitol, Harrisburg * ''Confederate Monument'',

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

* ''Phoenicia'' New York Custom House * ''Defense of the Flag'',

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

''Angels of the Confederacy''

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

. * '' John C. Calhoun'',

United States Capitol
''Soldiers' Monument''
Stafford Springs, Connecticut
Charles Duncan McIver

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

at Greensboro, dedicated to the school on October 5, 1912, an anniversary of the school's founding * '' Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument'', Baltimore, Maryland, dedicated on May 2, 1903

References

Notes

External links

National Sculpture Society
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruckstull, Frederick 1853 births 1942 deaths American architectural sculptors Académie Julian alumni 19th-century American sculptors 19th-century American male artists American male sculptors 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists Sculptors from Missouri Artists from St. Louis National Sculpture Society members