Hans K. Schuler (May 25, 1874 – March 30, 1951) was a German-born American sculptor and monument maker. He was the first American sculptor ever to win the
Salon Gold Medal. His works are in several important museum collections, and he also created many public monuments, mostly for locations in
Baltimore
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 ...
, Maryland and in the
Washington, D.C. area. For over a quarter of a century he served as president of the
Maryland Institute College of Art
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of t ...
.
Life and work
Hans Schuler was born in a part of
Alsace-Lorraine which was then under German sovereignty, though it is now part of France. Schuler's family emigrated to the United States while he was still a youngster. He graduated from the
Maryland Institute College of Art
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of t ...
(MICA) in
Baltimore
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 ...
, Maryland, having studied there at the
Rinehart School of Sculpture.
He continued his artistic training in France at the
Académie Julian, studying under
Raoul Verlet. Schuler won the
Salon Gold Medal in Paris in 1901, the first American sculptor ever to do so. Returning to Baltimore, he built his studio at 7 East
Lafayette Avenue in 190
residing and working in Baltimore for the rest of his life. Schuler served as president of MICA from 1925 to 1951 and was a member of the
Charcoal Club of Baltimore
The Charcoal Club has been an arts club in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, on an intermittent basis since 1883.
History
Started as the Sketch Club in 1883 by a group of male artists in Baltimore who "desired to draw and paint from life" (meani ...
. His works are in the collections of museums including the
National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and the
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
in
Baltimore
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 ...
. His Baltimore studio is still in use as the Schuler School of Fine Arts, founded in 1959 by sculptor Hans C. Schuler (1912–1999), the son of Hans K. Schuler. The
Hans Schuler Studio and Residence was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1985.
Schuler's sculptures and monuments grace many public places. Among them is a statue of U.S. President
James Buchanan in
Meridian Hill Park
Meridian Hill Park, also known as Malcolm X Park, is a structured urban park located in the Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Columbia Heights; it also abuts the nearby neighborhood of Adams Morgan. The park was designed and built between 1912 ...
in Washington, D.C. It is the only public memorial dedicated to Buchanan. On Baltimore's Charles Street, in the area of the main campus of
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
, there are also imposing monuments by Schuler honoring
Johns Hopkins and
Sidney Lanier
Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...
. All three of these monuments are large bronzes occupying elaborate stone placements. Schuler's sculptures and reliefs also adorn the interiors of many public buildings. For example, Schuler, along with sculptor
J. Maxwell Miller, created a large relief panel which is located in the main concert hall at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.
While Hans Schuler created many public monuments, he also created extremely sensual examples of free sculpture, including a life-sized and very lifelike marble nude – now at the
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
– representing the abandoned
Ariadne
Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for havi ...
, writhing in sadness and longing. Below is a link to an image and auction record of another Schuler piece of this type, recently sold at
Christie's in London.
Other works by Schuler can be found at
St. Mary's College of Maryland
St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) is a public liberal arts college in St. Mary's City, Maryland.Maryland State Archives, Online Manual, "St. Mary's College Of Maryland: Origin & Functions" http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/25univ/stmarys ...
,
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
,
National Portrait Gallery,
Fogg Art Museum
The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...
,
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...
,
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
,
Maryland Historical Society
The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), . founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and inte ...
,
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
,
St. John's College (
Annapolis, Maryland),
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
,
State University of New York, (
Albany and
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
), Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, PA and in various parks in the
Baltimore
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 ...
and Washington D.C. area. He is buried in
Loudon Park National Cemetery
Loudon Park National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 7,138 interments. It i ...
.
Schuler was a 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 ...
and exhibited in their 1923 exhibition.
[National Sculpture Society, ''Exhibition of American Sculpture Catalogue'', 1923, National Sculpture Society, New York 1923]
Schuler also taught at the
Corcoran School of Art, where his pupils included
Mary Blackford Fowler.
Baltimore monuments
Schuler was known as "Baltimore's Monument Maker" after creating many of the city's monuments on streets and parks. Some of these include:
*
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
Monument, originally located at
Druid Hill Park
Druid Hill Park is a urban park in northwest Baltimore, Maryland. Its boundaries are marked by Druid Park Drive (north), Swann Drive and Reisterstown Road (west and south), and the Jones Falls Expressway / Interstate 83 (east).[Casimir Pulaski
Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of the Ślepowron coat of arms (; ''Casimir Pulaski'' ; March 4 or March 6, 1745 Makarewicz, 1998 October 11, 1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called, tog ...]
Monument,
Patterson Park
Patterson Park is an urban park in Southeast Baltimore, Maryland, United States, adjacent to the neighborhoods of Canton, Highlandtown, Patterson Park, and Butchers Hill. It is bordered by East Baltimore Street, Eastern Avenue, South Patte ...
*
Johns Hopkins Monument,
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
*
Sidney Lanier
Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...
Memorial,
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
*
Samuel Smith Monument,
Federal Hill Park
Federal Hill Park is a 10.3 acres park located in Baltimore, Maryland on the south shore of the Inner Harbor. The park is a signature Baltimore landmark and offers visitors some of the most noted views in the city often photographed looking north ...
*
Francis Scott Key Marker,
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
*Fallsway Fountain,
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
*To the Glory of Maryland,
Maryland National Guard
The Maryland Military Department (MMD) is a department of the State of Maryland directed by the adjutant general of Maryland.
The Maryland Military Department consists of the:
*State Operations section, which manages fiscal and administrative du ...
Cemetery monuments
Like many of the successful sculptors of his day, Schuler created quite a few cemetery memorials. Many of these sculptures are life-sized or even larger than life-sized bronze human figures. Often the figures sit or sprawl across the tombstones in an attitude of grief, nostalgia, pensiveness, or anguish, like fellow mourners at the grave, or ghosts sociably mingling with the living, instead of being perched neatly on pedestals. The Riggs memorial, shown at right, is a good example. The Lanier monument pictured above, while not being a cemetery sculpture, also exemplifies Schuler's knack for presenting figures in this way. Most of the cemetery pieces are located in and around Baltimore. They include:
*Key Memorial, Cathedral Cemetery
*Hinrich Memorial,
Druid Ridge Cemetery
*Gail Memorial,
Druid Ridge Cemetery
*Schmidt Memorial,
Druid Ridge Cemetery
*Wagner-Lawyer Memorial,
Druid Ridge Cemetery
*Coates Memorial,
Druid Ridge Cemetery
*Baetjer Memorial,
Greenmount Cemetery
Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as man ...
*Hilken Memorial,
Greenmount Cemetery
Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as man ...
*Maulsby Memorial,
Greenmount Cemetery
Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as man ...
*Riggs Memorial,
Greenmount Cemetery
Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as man ...
*Mendels Memorial, Hebrew Cemetery
*Oppenheim Memorial, Hebrew Cemetery
*Krug Memorial,
Loudon Park Cemetery
Loudon Park Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated on January 27, 1853, on of the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by James Carey, a local merchant and politician. The entrance to the cemetery i ...
*Husted Memorial,
Loudon Park Cemetery
Loudon Park Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated on January 27, 1853, on of the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by James Carey, a local merchant and politician. The entrance to the cemetery i ...
*Nitze Memorial,
Loudon Park Cemetery
Loudon Park Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated on January 27, 1853, on of the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by James Carey, a local merchant and politician. The entrance to the cemetery i ...
*Kaiser Memorial,
Loudon Park Cemetery
Loudon Park Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated on January 27, 1853, on of the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by James Carey, a local merchant and politician. The entrance to the cemetery i ...
*Newcomes Memorial, Woodlawn Cemetery
*Winslow Memorial, Lakeside Cemetery Brockport, NY
*Fisher Memorial, Ashland Cemetery, Ashland KY
Coins
Schuler designed the 1934 United States commemorative
Maryland Tercentenary half dollar
The Maryland Tercentenary half dollar was a commemorative fifty-cent piece issued by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1934. It depicts Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore on the obverse and the Coat of Arms of Maryland on the reverse.
The ...
.
See also
*
Maryland Institute College of Art
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of t ...
*
Hans Schuler Studio and Residence
References
*Davenport, R. J.
''Davenport's art reference & price guide'' Davenport's Art Reference; Ventura, Calif.; biennial (every 2 years) ;
*Falk, Peter H.
''Who was who in American art''(Madison, Conn. : Sound View Press, 1985)
*Keyser, Ephraim, ''Baltimore The Monument City – Why?'' ''Art and Archaeology'' May, June 1925
*Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, ''Cemetery Sculpture of America'', unpublished manuscript
*National Sculpture Society, ''Exhibition of American Sculpture Catalogue'', 1923, National Sculpture Society, New York 1923
*Opitz, Glenn B., ed., "Dictionary of American Sculptors" (Poughkeepsie, NY: Apollo, 1984)
*Rusk, William Sener
''Art in Baltimore: Monuments and Memorials'' The Norman Remington Company, Baltimore, 1924.
External links
summary information on Hans K. Schuler
Schuler School of Fine Artswebsite
Askart.com page on Hans SchulerAuction record with COLOR IMAGEof Schuler work sold at Christie's, London, in September 2006
*
Baltimore City Paperarticle on Schuler (Tom Chalkley, January 2001)
Art Inventories Catalog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum detailed information on the Lanier monument, including the following description: "Sidney Lanier is shown seated on huge unpolished granite boulders, leaning back slightly on his proper right arm, his proper left leg crossed over his proper right leg. In his proper left hand he holds an open book and in his proper right he holds a pencil. His flute is by his proper right leg. He is dressed in a suit with a vest and overcoat, his full beard spreads over the opening of his vest as he tilts his head slightly downward toward his book. He leans back against a boulder which is carved with a relief depicting a landscape and two allegorical female figures. They hold hands, one also holding an unrolled scroll, and the other one also holding a musical instrument."
noting the 2006 centennial celebration of the opening of Schuler's Baltimore studio on Lafayette Street. The studio is now the Schuler School of Fine Arts.
Artfact.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuler, Hans
1874 births
1951 deaths
Cemetery art
Maryland Institute College of Art faculty
Académie Julian alumni
People from Alsace-Lorraine
Artists from Baltimore
20th-century American sculptors
20th-century American male artists
American male sculptors
National Sculpture Society members
Sculptors from Maryland
American currency designers
Coin designers