Johannes Sophus Gelert (1852-1923) was a Danish-born sculptor, who came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1887 and during a span of more than thirty years produced numerous works of civic art in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

and on the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

.''New Jersey's First Citizens'' (Paterson, NJ: J. J. Scannell, 1917) pp. 206-207.

Biography

Johannes Gelert was born December 10, 1852 in the town of Nybøl in southern

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. He demonstrated an early talent for art and after moving with his family to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1866 was apprenticed to a woodcarver. In 1870 he enrolled in the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dan ...

, where he graduated with honors in 1875. For the next ten years he worked and studied in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, becoming a protégé of some of

Europe's Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entire ...

leading sculptors.''National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'' (New York: James T. White & Co., 1899.) pp. 58-59. Immigrating to America in 1887, Gelert established his studios in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He became a citizen of the

in 1892 and four years later married Georgine Sundberg, with whom he had three children. He moved his studios to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1898 and lived there until his death on November 3, 1923.Weilbach's Biographical Dictionary of Artists
''kulturarv.dk''. Retrieved: October 17, 2012.

Exhibitions and awards

Gelert exhibited his sculpture at several notable events: 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 ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, the 1901

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

in Buffalo, the 1904

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

St. Louis 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 ...

and the 1915

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. A three-time gold medal winner, he received top honors for "Wounded American Soldier" at the 1897

Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition The Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition was an exposition held in Nashville from May 1 – October 31, 1897 in what is now Centennial Park. A year late, it celebrated the 100th anniversary of Tennessee's entry into the union in 17 ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, "Little Architect" at the 1899 Exhibition of the

Art Club of Philadelphia The Art Club of Philadelphia, often called the Philadelphia Art Club, was a club in Philadelphia, founded on February 7, 1887, to advance the arts.

and "Theseus, Victor over the Minotaur" at the 1902 Exhibition of the American Art Society in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Public displays of his art

In 1890 Gelert created a bronze statue of President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. That statue was financed and commissioned by Chicago Time-Herald publisher, Herman H. Kohlsaat. Gelert had moved to New York at the time of his commission. Gelert's statue of Grant was displayed and dedicated at Grant Park in Galena Illinois on June 3, 1891. Grant is displayed as a citizen standing having his right hand in his pocket. Gelert told city officials that the statue was to depict Grant as a private citizen of Galena "as you knew him..." Grant's widow,

Julia Grant Julia Boggs Grant (née Dent; January 26, 1826 – December 14, 1902) was the first lady of the United States and wife of President Ulysses S. Grant. As first lady, she became a national figure in her own right. Her memoirs, '' The Personal Memo ...

, was critical of Grant holding his hand in his pocket, but she approved the final version of the statue. Johannes Gelert's 1912 statue of

John H. Stevens John Harrington Stevens (June 13, 1820 – May 28, 1900) was the first authorized colonial resident on the west bank of the Mississippi River in what would become Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was granted permission to occupy the site, then part ...

, an early settler in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, was based on drawings by the Norwegian-born sculptor

Jacob Fjelde Jakob Henrik Gerhard Fjelde (10 April 1859 – 5 May 1896) was a Norwegian-born American sculptor.Harris, Moira F., ''Monumental Minnesota: A Guide to Outdoor Sculpture'', Pogo Press, 1992, pg. 6 He is remembered as both a prolific portraitis ...

. Originally located in downtown

, it was later moved to one of the city's most popular parks. Other works by Gelert are found at frequently visited attractions throughout the country: the Brooklyn Museum, Chicago's

Auditorium Theatre The Auditorium Theatre is a music and performance venue located inside the Auditorium Building at 50 Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Inspired by the Richardsonian Romanesque Style of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the building was ...

and Lincoln Park and the

St. Louis Art Museum The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is one of the principal U.S. art museums, with paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from all corners of the world. Its three-story building stands in Forest Park in St. Louis, M ...

. He also designed the tomb of businessman Francis Furman, which is the largest memorial at Mount Olivet Cemetery in

. There is, however, limited public access to one of his best-known pieces. Gelert's Haymarket Memorial, showing a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

policeman with an upraised arm, was unveiled in

Haymarket Square Haymarket Square may refer to: * Haymarket Square (Boston), in Boston * Haymarket Square (Chicago), in Chicago * Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or ...

on May 30, 1889. After being struck by a streetcar, defaced with black paint and targeted with bomb attacks during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, it was moved to the headquarters of the Chicago Police Department in the early 1970s, where it has remained in secure locations ever since. Historians and scholars note that Gelert's works displayed contemporary and interesting themes of economic class, labor, and social movements.

Lost works

Chicago Auditorium Building, theatre detail

After major fire damage in 1890,

McVicker's Theatre McVicker's Theater (1857–1984) was a playhouse in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Built for actor James Hubert McVicker, the theater was the leading stage for comedic plays in Chicago's early years. It often hosted performances by Edwin Boot ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

was redesigned by the architectural firm of

Adler and Sullivan Adler & Sullivan was an architectural firm founded by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in Chicago. Among its projects was the multi-purpose Auditorium Building in Chicago and the Wainwright Building skyscraper in St Louis. In 1883 Louis Sullivan wa ...

.McVickers Theatre
''cinematreasures.org''. Retrieved October 17, 2012. Johannes Gelert contributed two panels in bas-relief: "one depicting the march of LaSalle, which was the entrance of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

into

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, the other symbolizing in a picture of the

Fort Dearborn massacre The Battle of Fort Dearborn (sometimes called the Fort Dearborn Massacre) was an engagement between United States troops and Potawatomi Native Americans that occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn in what is now Chicago, Illinois (at that ...

the final struggle of savagery to hold its own against the new civilization of the State." Dating from 1872, the building was demolished in 1922 to make way for the third version of McVicker's Theatre, a movie palace that lasted until 1984 and was taken down the following year. A bronze bust of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, created by Gelert in 1897, stood in Lincoln Park for over seventy years. Stolen in 1971, a fragment of the base remains. In 1899 Gelert was one of twenty-eight sculptors working on the

Dewey Arch __NOTOC__ The Dewey Arch was a triumphal arch that stood from 1899 to 1900 at Madison Square in Manhattan, New York. It was erected for a parade in honor of Admiral George Dewey celebrating his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philipp ...

, which honored Admiral George Dewey and his victory in the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay ( fil, Labanan sa Look ng Maynila; es, Batalla de Bahía de Manila), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore ...

the previous year. The monument, erected for a parade on September 30, 1899, was made of staff, a material often used for temporary structures at international fairs and expositions. Soon after the celebration the arch began to deteriorate. When funds could not be raised to remake it with durable materials, the arch was destroyed.

. ''wikipedia.org''. Retrieved: October 17, 2012.

Gallery

File:Augustin Frederikskirken.JPG, St. Augustine at

Frederik's Church Frederik's Church ( da, Frederiks Kirke), popularly known as The Marble Church () for its rococo architecture, is an Evangelical Lutheran church in Copenhagen, Denmark. The church forms the focal point of the Frederiksstaden district; it is loc ...

in Copenhagen, 1885 File:HaymarketPoliceMemorial.jpg, Haymarket Memorial in Chicago, 1889 File:Grant statue.jpg, Bronze statue of

Grant Park Galena, Illinois, 1890 File:The struggle for work.jpg, ''The Struggle for Work'' at the Chicago World's Fair, 1893 File:Johann Gelert - Art gothique.jpg,

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and ...

at the St. Louis World's Fair, 1904

References

External links

Articles
The Wounded Soldier
in the ''

San Francisco Call ''The San Francisco Call'' was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called ''The San Francisco Call & Post'', the ''San Francisco Call-Bulletin ...

:'' February 26, 1899.
Johannes Gelert
in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

:'' December 11, 1922. Books
Johannes Gelert in the Lincoln Financial Foundation CollectionGraphic historical sketch of McVicker's Theatre published in 1891Johannes Gelert
in 1917-1918 issue of ''New Jersey's First Citizens'', pp. 206–207.
Johannes Gelert
in the 1899 '' National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'', pp. 58–59. Profiles
Johannes Gelert
Chicago Herald Building 1891
Chicago Herald statue by GelertHerald Building at 165 W. Washington Street
McVicker's Theatre in Chicago 1891
McVicker's TheatreAuditorium of McVicker's TheatreBas-reliefs at McVicker's Theatre
* ttp://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID:siris_ari_22142 The Fort Dearborn MassacreAndersen statue at Lincoln Park 1896
The Hans Christian Andersen Statue
in ''

Skandinaven ''Skandinaven'' was a Norwegian language newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois from 1866 until 1941. Background ''Skandinaven'' was established by three Norwegian immigrants; John Anderson, Knud Langeland (1813–88), and Iver Lawson ( ...

:'' September 17, 1896. Beethoven bust at Lincoln Park 1897
Beethoven bust unveiled
Dewey Arch in New York City 1899
The Dewey Arch

Bas-relief on Dewey ArchArt and Artists (Destruction of Dewey Arch)
Gold Medals

* ttp://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=%22IAS+76006131 Little Architect: Philadelphia 1899br>Theseus, Victor over the Minotaur: Philadelphia 1902
Catalogs
Johannes Gelert
at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

.
Johannes Gelert
at the Brooklyn Museum. Selected works by Johannes Gelert
1885 St. Augustine
at

.
1889 Haymarket Memorial
at police headquarters in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.
1889 Portrait medallions of Demosthenes and William Shakespeare
at the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.
1889 Portrait medallions of Richard Wagner and Joseph Haydn
at the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.
1890 Ulysses S. Grant
in

Galena, Illinois Galena is the largest city in and the county seat of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, with a population of 3,308 at the 2020 census. A section of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Galena Historic District. The c ...

.
1891 The Chicago Herald
at St. Ignatius High School.
1893 The Struggle for Work
at the Chicago World's Fair.
1895 Abraham Lincoln1896 Hans Christian Andersen
at Lincoln Park in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.
1897 Beethoven bust
at Lincoln Park in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.
1897 Wounded American Soldier:
gold medal recipient at the Tennessee Centennial in

.
1899 Little Architect:
gold medal recipient at the

Art Club of Philadelphia The Art Club of Philadelphia, often called the Philadelphia Art Club, was a club in Philadelphia, founded on February 7, 1887, to advance the arts.

exhibition.
1899 Dewey Arch
in

.
1899 Justice Joseph Mead Bailey
at the

Chicago-Kent College of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...

.
1904 Napoleon
at the St. Louis World's Fair.
1904 Gothic art
at the St. Louis World's Fair.
1904 Gothic art
at the

.
1905 Denmark
at the U. S. Custom House in

.
1908 Francis Furman statue
at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

.
1908 Francis Furman mausoleum
at Mount Olivet Cemetery in

.
1909 Roman emperor
at the Brooklyn Museum.
1909 Roman law
at the Brooklyn Museum.
1909 Roman orator
at the Brooklyn Museum.
1909 Roman statesman
at the Brooklyn Museum.
1911 Enlightenment giving power
atop the Bergen County Court House in Hackensack, New Jersey.
1912 John H. Stevens
at

Minnehaha Park Minnehaha Park is a city park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and home to Minnehaha Falls and the lower reaches of Minnehaha Creek. Officially named Minnehaha Regional Park, it is part of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board syst ...

.
1913 Evening prayers
at Christ Lutheran Church in Maplewood, New Jersey.
1916 C. W. Post
in Battle Creek, Michigan. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gelert, Johannes 1852 births 1923 deaths Danish-American history People from Sønderborg Municipality Danish emigrants to the United States Danish migration to North America Danish sculptors Danish male artists 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists 19th-century American sculptors 19th-century American male artists American male sculptors Male sculptors

Biography

Exhibitions and awards

Public displays of his art

Lost works

See also

Gallery

References

External links