Moses Jacob Ezekiel, also known as Moses "Ritter von" Ezekiel (October 28, 1844 – March 27, 1917), was an American sculptor who lived and worked in
Rome for the majority of his career. Ezekiel was "the first American-born Jewish artist to receive international acclaim".
[
He was a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute and served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, including at the ]Battle of New Market
The Battle of New Market was fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men defeated the larger Army of the Shenandoah under Major General Franz ...
. He is the only well-known sculptor to have seen action in the Civil War.
After the war, he completed his degree at VMI, and a few years later went to Berlin, where he studied at the Prussian Academy of Art. He moved to Rome, where he lived and worked most of his life, selling his works internationally, including as commissions in the United States.
He has been described as a "Confederate expatriate"[ and a "proud Southerner",][ and the ]Confederate battle flag
The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...
hung in his Rome studio for 40 years.[ The most famous of his monuments is the Confederate Memorial in ]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 ...
, which he thought of as the "crowning achievement of his career."
Childhood
Ezekiel was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Jacob Ezekiel
Jacob Ezekiel (June 28, 1812 – May 16, 1899) was an American merchant and leader of the Jewish community in antebellum Richmond, Virginia. In Cincinnati after the Civil War, he was for many years Secretary of the Board of Hebrew Union College. He ...
(1812–1899), an Ashkenazic
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
Jew. His mother, Catherine de Castro Ezekiel, was Sephardic. His grandparents had emigrated from Holland in the early 1800s, settling first in Philadelphia and later in Richmond.[ His father was a cotton merchant][ and ]bookbinder
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, ...
, "a good writer and a well-read man, who possessed the complete works of Maimonides".[ While in the book-binding business in ]Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
(1833–34), Jacob founded the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Baltimore. Jacob moved to Richmond in 1834, entering the dry-goods business with first one, then another brother-in-law.[ He was secretary of the synagogue ]Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome
Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome ( he, קהל קדוש בית שלום) (Congregation Holy House of Peace) was the first synagogue built in Richmond, Virginia; it was also the first Sephardic Kahal in Virginia. The creation of this community was a natura ...
"and spokesman of the Jews of Richmond".[ In Cincinnati, Jacob served as Secretary of the Board of ]Hebrew Union College
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
. He was a charter member of B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...
.
The seventh child, Moses had three brothers and eight sisters, at least one of which was stillborn.[ He was brought up as an ]observant Jew
In Judaism, a person who is shomer Shabbat or shomer Shabbos (plural ''shomré Shabbat'' or ''shomrei Shabbos''; he, שומר שבת, "Sabbath observer", sometimes more specifically, "Saturday Sabbath observer") is a person who observes the m ...
by his grandparents, to whom his parents sent him to live due to financial difficulties.[ They owned a ]dry-goods
Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and forme ...
store that sold suits and women's dresses for slaves about to be sold. They also owned a few slaves.[ Moses "was sent to a 'pay' school", that of "old Mr. Burton Davis",][ and he attended dancing school.]
Virginia Military Institute and the Civil War
When Fort Sumter was fired upon and Virginia seceded, Ezekiel enrolled in the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia,[ the first Jewish ]cadet
A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...
(student) to do so. He was Corporal of the Guard that accompanied the coffin of Stonewall Jackson (a Virginia Military Institute instructor) at his burial in Lexington in 1863.[ He and other cadets from VMI marched 80 miles north and fought at the 1864 ]Battle of New Market
The Battle of New Market was fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men defeated the larger Army of the Shenandoah under Major General Franz ...
. He was wounded in a fight with Union army troops under Franz Sigel
Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German American military officer, revolutionary and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil ...
. After his recovery, he served with the cadets in Richmond to train new recruits for the army. Shortly before the end of the war, he served in the trenches defending the city.[
Following the Civil War, Ezekiel returned to VMI to finish his education, graduating in 1866. He studied anatomy at the Medical College of Virginia in 1866–68, thinking of becoming a doctor.][ In 1867–68 he was superintendent of the Richmond Hebrew Sunday School.
He moved in with his parents in Cincinnati in 1868; his parents had moved there, where their oldest daughter Hannah lived, after losing their business in Richmond to fire.][ While not there long, in his memoirs he calls Cincinnati his home.]
Sculpture
In Cincinnati he began the study of sculpture at the Art School of J. Insco Williams and in the studio of Thomas Dow Jones.
Moving to Berlin in 1869, he studied at the Prussian Academy of Art under Professor Albert Wolf.
Needing money, in 1873, during the Franco-Prussian War, he was a war correspondent for the New York Herald,[ and he was arrested and imprisoned "for a time" as a spy for France.] He was admitted into the Society of Artists, Berlin, and at age 29 was the first foreigner to win the Michael Beer Prix de Rome, for a ''bas relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
'' entitled ''Israel''. The prize of $1,000 provided for two years of study in Rome, but he traveled to Rome by way of the United States, where he had not been for five years,[ as he had "unexpectedly" received a commission from ]B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...
for a monument to Religious Liberty
Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...
.[
]
Rome studio
Arriving in Rome in 1874, he fell in love with the Eternal City, which he soon made his home. It was there that he completed the sculptures and paintings for which he is famous.
"Ezekiel found both personal and artistic freedom in Rome. He dressed like a dandy and spent extravagantly on entertaining friends, clients, and potential clients."[ His studio in Rome was in the former ]Baths of Diocletian
, alternate_name = it, Terme di Diocleziano
, image = Baths of Diocletian-Antmoose1.jpg
, caption = Baths of Diocletian, with the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri built in the remains of the baths.
, map_dot_ ...
, where every Friday afternoon he had open house.[ It was called "one of the Show Places of the Eternal City, magnificent in proportions and stored with fine art works."] and many visitors left descriptions of it.
"His picturesque studio in the Baths of Diocletian was the rendezvous of all important American visitors and the most prominent representatives of art."[ Among the visitors to his studio were:
* Gabriele d'Annunzio]
* Queen of Italy Margherita of Savoy
* General and future President Ulysses 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 ...
* Franz Liszt
* U.S. ambassador to Italy John Stallo
* Cardenal Gustav Adolf Hohenlohe
* writer Annie Besant
Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist.
Regarded as a champion of human f ...
* railroad magnate Melville Ingalls
* engineer Benjamin Hotchkiss, and
* Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany
A lecture in his studio was attended by 150 people. He also hosted musicales there, where could be heard "the finest music by the greatest talent".
Ezekiel occupied this studio from 1879 to 1910. After 30 years, the government "demand dthe possession of this part of the ruins as an adjunct to the National Roman Museum. On leaving there he was given by the municipal authorities the Tower of Belisarius on the Pincian Hill
The Pincian Hill (; it, Pincio ; la, Mons Pincius) is a hill in the northeast quadrant of the historical centre of Rome. The hill lies to the north of the Quirinal, overlooking the Campus Martius. It was outside the original boundaries of th ...
overlooking the Borghese Gardens
Villa Borghese is a landscape garden in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the third largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 197.7 acres) after the ones of the Villa Doria Pamphili an ...
, which furnished him a home for the rest of his years, while he took a studio and work rooms in the Via Fausta and just off the Piazza del Popolo."
Personal life
Although Ezekiel never married, he had a daughter, Alice Johnson (1859-1926). According to a census document of July 14, 1860, Alice Johnson was 10 months old, suggesting she was born in September 1859. She would therefore have been conceived at the beginning of 1859 when Moses was 14. Her mother was Isabella, a "beautiful mulatto housemaid" of his father. After graduating from Howard University, Alice became a schoolteacher and married Daniel Hale Williams
Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1856 – August 4, 1931) was an African-American surgeon, who in 1893 performed what is referred to as "the first successful heart surgery". It was performed at Chicago's Provident Hospital, which he founded in ...
in 1898, who was also mixed race. He became a prominent, pioneering heart surgeon. They lived in Chicago for much of his career.
Isabella visited Moses in Rome with Alice, but returned shortly thereafter. Moses never refers to Alice in his ''Memoirs'', and there is no record of any other contact between them.
In 1872, in Berlin, he met Fedor Encke (1851–1926), the "illegitimate grandson of King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia."[ Encke was a portrait painter later commissioned to do portraits of Theodore Roosevelt and ]John Pierpont Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became kno ...
, among others; he also painted Ezekiel. The pair "traveled together often and socialized with Europe's elites, including Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, French actress Sarah Bernhardt and Queen Margherita
Margherita of Savoy (''Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna''; 20 November 1851 – 4 January 1926) was Queen of Italy by marriage to Umberto I.
Life
Early life
Margherita was born to Prince Ferdinand of Savoy, Duke of Genoa and Princess Elisabe ...
of Italy."[ Encke accompanied Ezekiel on a visit to the United States.][ According to writer Michael Feldberg, Ezekial and Encke had "a forty-five year homosexual relationship…that neither acknowledged publicly."] About this relationship, Ezekial was always circumspect in his letters and memoirs, referring to Encke only as his "traveling companion" and "my dear friend."
Biographer Peter Adam Nash, in ''The Life and Times of Moses Jacob Ezekiel'', describes Ezekiel as homosexual, but Nash does not produce any direct evidence for this; Nash's assumption is made from his research of Ezekiel's papers and of their social and historical context.
Awards and honors
In his lifetime, Ezekiel received numerous honors: he was decorated by King Umberto I of Italy, the "Crosses for Merit and Art" from the German Emperor, another from Prince Frederick Johann of Saxe-Meiningen
Prince Friedrich of Saxe-Meiningen, Duke of Saxony (Full given names: ''Friedrich Johann Bernhard Hermann Heinrich Moritz''; 12 October 1861 – 23 August 1914) was a German soldier and member of the Ducal House of Saxe-Meiningen.
Birth and unive ...
, and the awards of "Chevalier" (Cavaliere) and "Officer of the Crown of Italy" (1910) from King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and K ...
. Ezekiel received the Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Palermo, Italy; the silver medal at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mi ...
in 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 ...
; and the Raphael Medal from the Art Society of Urbino, Italy.
The honorific "Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
" by which Ezekiel is often referred is technically incorrect, as Ezekiel was never knighted by the monarch of the United Kingdom. More properly, his title was "Cavaliere" Moses Ezekiel, because of his Italian knighthood, or Moses "Ritter
Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above "Edler" and below "Freiherr" (Baron). As with most titles an ...
von" Ezekiel, because of his German honors. Ezekiel translated his Italian title into the English "Sir" on his visiting cards, resulting in the honorific by which he became known in English-speaking countries.
In 1904, he was presented the New Market Cross of Honor at VMI by the Government of Virginia as one of the 294 cadets who fought at the Battle of New Market.
Grave
Ezekiel died in his studio in Rome, Italy during the First World War, and was temporarily entombed there. In 1921, he was reinterred at the foot of his Confederate Memorial in Section 16 of 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 ...
. The inscription on his grave reads "Moses J. Ezekiel Sergeant of Company C Battalion of Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute."
Legacy
Critical assessments
Compared to Michelangelo in 1876, Ezekiel's fame has not stood the test of time. "Famous in his day, he is almost forgotten now." According to his biographer Peter Nash, "You wouldn't go to Rome to make new, progressive art." "He could not accept modern art", and "rejected" 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 ...
, whom he considered "pretentious". After noting the awards he received during his life, Sue Eisenfeld noted:
"As was his custom with his monuments, Ezekiel proceeded meticulously to reflect historical accuracy," according to the editors of his memoirs.
"Lost Cause" movement
Another factor possibly contributing to his "relative obscurity" today may be his devotion to the Confederacy.
Ezekiel's sculptures of Confederate heroes are the most visible manifestation of, and a significant factor in the legitimacy of, the Lost Cause of the Confederacy, in which he was a "true believer". It is a "romanticized vision of the South and the Confederacy in which soldiers fought honorably for states' rights and free trade rather than treasonously for the cause of slavery. ee_Cornerstone_speech..html" ;"title="Cornerstone_speech.html" ;"title="ee Cornerstone speech">ee Cornerstone speech.">Cornerstone_speech.html" ;"title="ee Cornerstone speech">ee Cornerstone speech.In this narrative, slave owners are painted as benign protectors and providers for their African-American 'dependents.'"
"Ezekiel's work is integral to this sympathetic view of the Civil War." He depicted Confederate leaders, like Stonewall Jackson, or fallen soldiers like the VMI students, as heroes. "But no monument exemplifies the Lost Cause narrative better than Ezekiel's ''Confederate Memorial'' in Arlington, where the woman representing the South appears to be protecting the black figures below." According to his relative Judith Ezekiel, "This statue was a very, very deliberate part of revisionist history of racist America." According to historian Gabriel Reich, "the statue functions as propaganda for the Lost Cause.… It couldn't be worse."
On August 20, 2017 — immediately after and "in light of" the Unite the right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen ...
— "nearly two dozen people from the extended Ezekiel family" sent a letter to the ''Washington Post'', asking for the Arlington monument's removal:
Works
In the early 1880s, Ezekiel created eleven larger-than-life sized statues of famous artists. These were installed in niches on the façade of the Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University.
Overview
The Corcoran School of the Arts & Desig ...
's original building (now the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery). In the early 1960s, they were removed to the Norfolk Botanical Garden
The Norfolk Botanical Garden (158 acres) is a botanical garden with arboretum located at 6700 Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk, Virginia.
History
The Norfolk Botanical Garden was founded through the collaboration between Norfolk City Manager Thoma ...
in Norfolk, Virginia.
Among his noted works was a memorial at VMI, ''Virginia Mourning Her Dead'' (1903), for which he declined payment.[ It was installed in the small cemetery where six of the 10 VMI cadets killed at the Battle of New Market are buried. He also created a Confederate memorial which he called ''New South'' (1914); it was installed at ]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 ...
. Many of his works were of noted leaders.
A single word that could be applied to Ezekiel's statues, which he frequently used himself, is "colossal": his "genius often asserts itself in colossal figures and emblematic monuments". His never-built statue of Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...
, founder of Johns Hopkins University, was to have been over 15 feet (4.6 m) high, with a "colossal" bust of Hopkins, in bronze, 21⁄2 times life size. His most important statues are huge, and in one case he claimed that it was the largest statue ever made.
Lists of Ezekiel's works are found in the introduction to his ''Memoirs'', in an obituary in ''Art and Archaeology'', and in the '' New York Times''.
Ezekiel was a postwar friend of Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
, who recommended he become "an artist",[ and said that "the one work I would love to do above anything else in the world"][ was a public sculpture of Robert E. Lee. But, despite entering at least four contests to do so, this ambition did not come to fruition.][
]
Statues
*''Religious Liberty
Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...
'' (1876). A commission from B'nai Brith
B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peop ...
Originally installed in Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, with ...
, Philadelphia, now installed at the National Museum of American Jewish History
The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) is a Smithsonian-affiliated museum at 101 South Independence Mall East (S. 5th Street) at Market Street in Center City Philadelphia. It was founded in 1976.
History
With ...
in the same city. "Colossal."
* 11 statues of artists: '' Phidias'', '' Raphael'', '' Durer'', '' Michelangelo'', '' Titian'', '' Murillo'', ''Da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on h ...
'', ''Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
'', '' Van Dyke'', '' Canova'', '' Thomas Crawford'' (1879–84). Originally installed in niches on the façade of the Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University.
Overview
The Corcoran School of the Arts & Desig ...
, Washington, DC. Now installed at "Statuary Vista", Norfolk Botanical Garden
The Norfolk Botanical Garden (158 acres) is a botanical garden with arboretum located at 6700 Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk, Virginia.
History
The Norfolk Botanical Garden was founded through the collaboration between Norfolk City Manager Thoma ...
, Norfolk, Virginia. There is currently (2013) a campaign to restore them.
* Statuette of Spinoza
Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch Republic, Dutch philosopher of Spanish and ...
, 1883, Hebrew Union College. Donated by the artist for fundraising.
*''Mrs. Andrew Dickson White
Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who cofounded Cornell University and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricu ...
'' (Mary Amanda Outwater), 1889, Sage Chapel
Sage Chapel is the non-denominational chapel on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York State which serves as the burial ground for many contributors to Cornell's history, including the founders of the university: Ezra Cornell and ...
, Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teac ...
*''Statue of Christopher Columbus'' (1892), Arrigo Park, Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. Bronze, "faced with gold mosaic". Commissioned for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair), which Ezekiel attended. Placed over the entrance to the Columbus Memorial building.
* Jesse Seligman monument, 1895
*'' Jefferson Monument'' (1901), Louisville Metro Hall, Louisville, Kentucky.
** A 1910 replica of this is at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen ...
.
*''Virginia Mourning Her Dead'' (1903), Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia. "Colossal."
**A replica of this is at the former Museum of the Confederacy
The American Civil War Museum is a multi-site museum in the Greater Richmond Region of central Virginia, dedicated to the history of the American Civil War. The museum operates three sites: The White House of the Confederacy, American Civil War M ...
, now the American Civil War Museum
The American Civil War Museum is a multi-site museum in the Greater Richmond Region of central Virginia, dedicated to the history of the American Civil War. The museum operates three sites: The White House of the Confederacy, American Civil War M ...
, Richmond, Virginia.
*'' Statue of Anthony J. Drexel'' (1904), Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
*'' Blind Homer with His Student Guide'' 1881? (1907), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen ...
.
*Jennie McGraw
Jennie McGraw, also Jennie McGraw Fiske, (September 14, 1840 – September 30, 1881) was the daughter of John McGraw, millionaire philanthropist to Cornell University and Rhoda Charlotte Southworth. In 1868, she gave the university a set of ch ...
Fiske, 1908, Sage Chapel
Sage Chapel is the non-denominational chapel on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York State which serves as the burial ground for many contributors to Cornell's history, including the founders of the university: Ezra Cornell and ...
, Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teac ...
*''Statue of Stonewall Jackson'' (1910), West Virginia State Capitol
The West Virginia State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of West Virginia, and houses the West Virginia Legislature and the office of the Governor of West Virginia. Located in Charleston, West Virginia, the building was dedica ...
, Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 2020 census and an estimated population of 48,018 in 2021. The Charlesto ...
.
*''Southern'', at the Confederate Cemetery on Johnson's Island, Ohio, a 1910 commission from the United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...
.
*'' Confederate Memorial'' (1914), 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 ...
, Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
.
* Edgar Allan Poe (his last work), 1915, Wyman Park, Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
* Date and present location unknown: statue of Neptune, for Nettuno, Italy.
* ''Napoleon of St. Helena'', statue in Rome, Italy.
* Stonewall Jackson statue for Charleston, West Virginia, and a replica for Lexington, Virginia;
* Statue of John Warwick Daniel
John Warwick Daniel (September 5, 1842June 29, 1910) was an American lawyer, author, and Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia who promoted the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. Daniel served in both houses of the Virginia General Assemb ...
, (c. 1913), Lynchburg, Virginia.
*''Statue of Edgar Allan Poe'' (1917), University of Baltimore
The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt's schools and colleges provide education in business, law, public affairs, and the applied arts and sc ...
, Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
.
Reliefs
*''Israel'', 1873 ( Skirball Museum, Los Angeles)
*''Jacob Ezekiel
Jacob Ezekiel (June 28, 1812 – May 16, 1899) was an American merchant and leader of the Jewish community in antebellum Richmond, Virginia. In Cincinnati after the Civil War, he was for many years Secretary of the Board of Hebrew Union College. He ...
'', the artist's father, 1874 ( Skirball Museum, Los Angeles)
*''Catherine Ezekiel'', the artist's mother, 1874 ( Skirball Museum, Los Angeles)
Busts
* Bust of Friedrich Hassaurek
Friedrich Hassaurek (8 October 1831 Vienna, Austria - 3 October 1885 Paris) was a United States journalist and ambassador.
Biography
He attended the Piaristen gymnasium. In the German revolutions of 1848, he served in the student legion, and w ...
http://www.arcadja.com/auctions/en/ezekiel_moses_jacob/artist/80799/
* Robert E. Lee (1886), Virginia Military Institute Museum
* Isaac Mayer Wise, Hebrew Union College
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, Cincinnati
*Goldwin Smith
Goldwin Smith (13 August 1823 – 7 June 1910) was a British historian and journalist, active in the United Kingdom and Canada. In the 1860s he also taught at Cornell University in the United States.
Life and career Early life and education ...
, 1906, Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teac ...
*''Head of Anthony J. Drexel
Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. (September 13, 1826 – June 30, 1893) was an American banker who played a major role in the rise of modern global finance after the American Civil War. As the dominant partner of Drexel & Co. of Philadelphia, he found ...
'' (1905), Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
*''Bust of General Robert E. Lee''
*''Bust of Percy Bysshe Shelley'' in the Keats-Shelley Memorial House, Piazza di Spagna
Piazza di Spagna ("Spanish Square"), at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, is one of the most famous squares in Rome, Italy. It owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, the seat of the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See. There is also the famed Col ...
, Rome.
*''Bust of Franz Liszt''.
*''Bust of Jessica'' (1880), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC.
*''Bust of Judith'' (c. 1880), Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ov ...
, Cincinnati, Ohio.
* In 1888 he completed a bust of Hopkins professor Charles D. Morris.
*''Ecce Homo'' (1884), Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ov ...
, Cincinnati, Ohio.
*''Bust of Thomas Jefferson'' (1888), 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 at ...
, Washington, DC.
* Christ in the Tomb
*Napoleon at St. Helena
*The Martyr, or Christ Bound to the Cross
*David Singing his Song of Glory
*Judith Slaying Holofernes
*Jessica
*Portia
*the allegorical Jefferson Monument for Louisville, Kentucky, and a replica in front of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville
*
*Lord Sherbrooke Memorial in Westminster Abbey, London, England
*Senator Daniels at Lynchburg, Virginia
* Bust of Washington ("colossal")) in the Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ov ...
.
*''Eve Hearing the Voice'' (1876), Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ov ...
, Cincinnati, Ohio.
*''Faith'' (1877), 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 (1795–186 ...
, Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
.
*
*''Bust of Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin
Andrew Gregg Curtin (April 22, 1815/1817October 7, 1894) was a U.S. lawyer and politician. He served as the Governor of Pennsylvania during the Civil War, helped defend his state during the Gettysburg Campaign, and led organization of the crea ...
'' (1912), Smith Memorial Arch
Smith Memorial Arch is an American Civil War monument at South Concourse and Lansdowne Drive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built on the former grounds of the 1876 Centennial Exposition, it serves as a gateway to Fairmount Park, West Fairmount Pa ...
, West Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, with ...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Archival material
The American Jewish Archives
The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, founded in 1947, is committed to preserving a documentary heritage of the religious, organizational, economic, cultural, personal, social and family life of American Jewry. It has be ...
, in Cincinnati, has a "Moses Jacob Ezekiel Collection." It "includes original and photocopies of Ezekiel's correspondence and writings, photographs of many of his works, biographies, genealogies, memorial tributes, correspondence of Ezekiel's biographers, articles and newsclippings concerning Ezekiel and miscellaneous items." http://collections.americanjewisharchives.org/ms/ms0044/ms0044.html
Virginia Military Institute has two boxes of Ezekiel papers. "Included is correspondence to Virginia Military Institute Superintendent Edward West Nichols and others, 1867 – 1917, some relating to the design of the Battle of New Market memorial sculpture ''Virginia Mourning Her Dead''; pen and ink sketches by Ezekiel (ca. 67 items); the typed manuscript of Ezekiel's autobiography, ''Memoirs from the Baths of Diocletian'', and miscellaneous printed material."[/] Ezekiel's ''Memoirs'', a fundamental source, were unknown until they were rediscovered in the Hebrew Union Archives by the two rabbis, who after much editorial work, prepared them for publication in 1975. They were called "gossipy" but "readable" in a review.
Some additional material is in the archives of Congregation Beth Ahabah
Beth Ahabah ( he, House of Love) is a Reform synagogue in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1789 by Spanish and Portuguese Jews as Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome (Hebrew: Holy Congregation, House of Peace) it is one of the oldest synagogues in the Unit ...
, of Richmond,[ which contains the archive of Jacob Ezekiel's synagogue, ]Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome
Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome ( he, קהל קדוש בית שלום) (Congregation Holy House of Peace) was the first synagogue built in Richmond, Virginia; it was also the first Sephardic Kahal in Virginia. The creation of this community was a natura ...
, the Hebrew Union College
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
of Cincinnati, on whose board of directors Jacob was secretary, and the organizations such as B'nai Brith
B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peop ...
and United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...
that commissioned sculptures.
Gallery
File:SarahWorkum7.jpg, ''Bas relief of Sarah Workum'', private collection.
File:VMI Virginia Mourning Her Sons wmm2002.jpg, ''Virginia Mourning Her Dead'' (1903), Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA.
File:AJDrexelStatue.jpg, ''Anthony J. Drexel'' (1904), Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.
File:Anthony J. Drexel bust - Drexel University - IMG 7344.JPG, ''Bust of Anthony J. Drexel'' (1905), Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.
File:Old Cabell Hall and Homer University of Virginia.jpg, '' Homer'' (1907), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
File:P5240017 Johnsons Island Conf Cemetery.jpg, ''The Lookout'' (1910), Confederate Cemetery, Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Initially, Johns ...
, OH.
File:Thomas Jefferson by Moses Jacob Ezekiel.JPG, ''Jefferson Monument'' (1910), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
File:Curtin Smith Arch Philly.JPG, ''Bust of Andrew Gregg Curtin'' (1912), Smith Memorial Arch
Smith Memorial Arch is an American Civil War monument at South Concourse and Lansdowne Drive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built on the former grounds of the 1876 Centennial Exposition, it serves as a gateway to Fairmount Park, West Fairmount Pa ...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
File:Confederate Memorial Arlington Cemetery LOC13525v.jpg, Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)
The Confederate Memorial is a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States, that commemorates members of the armed forces of the Confederate States of America who died during the American Civil War ...
(1914), Arlington, VA.
File:EAPoeStatue.jpg, ''Statue of Edgar Allan Poe'' (1917), University of Baltimore
The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt's schools and colleges provide education in business, law, public affairs, and the applied arts and sc ...
, Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
.
'
In popular culture
Ezekiel was portrayed by Josh Zuckerman
Joshua Ryan Zuckerman (born April 1, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for playing Mark Cullin in the science fiction TV series ''Kyle XY'', Eddie Orlofsky in ''Desperate Housewives'' and Nate Marlowe in the comedy series '' Significant Mot ...
in the 2014 film ''Field of Lost Shoes
''Field of Lost Shoes'' is a 2014 American war drama film directed by Sean McNamara and written by Dave Kennedy and Thomas Farrell. The film stars Nolan Gould, Lauren Holly, Jason Isaacs, Tom Skerritt, Keith David and David Arquette. It is base ...
'', which depicted the Battle of New Market
The Battle of New Market was fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men defeated the larger Army of the Shenandoah under Major General Franz ...
.
Ezekiel is the sculptor Askol in Carel Vosmaer
Carel Vosmaer (20 March 1826 – 12 June 1888) was a Dutch poet and art critic, born at The Hague. He wrote under the pseudonym Flanor.
Life
He studied law at the University of Leiden, obtaining a degree in 1851, and was for many years Deputy ...
's novel ''The Amazon'', in which Ezekiel's studio is described in detail, It is also described in Mary Agnes Tincker's ''The Jewel in the Lotus''; "the opening pages depict the studio of Salathiel, the sculptor, the original of which character in the novel was Moses Ezekiel."
A poem about his ''Israel'' was written by Pietschmann, of Berlin.
Gabriele d'Annunzio wrote a poem, "To Mole Ezekiel," in 1887.
A description of his studio by Lilian V. de Bosis was published in the May 1891 issue of 'kTye Esquiline''.''
See also
* Herbert Barbee
Herbert Barbee (October 8, 1848 – March 22, 1936) was an American sculptor from Luray, Virginia. He was the son of William Randolph Barbee (1818–1868), also a renowned sculptor, with whom he studied in Florence, Italy for some time. He lived ...
* Edmonia Lewis, the other American sculptor in Rome
Notes
References
Bibliography
*Cohen, Stan and Keith Gibson. ''Moses Ezekiel: Civil War Soldier, Renowned Sculptor'', Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Inc., 2007.
*
*
* Leepson, Marc. "Sculpting the Cause", ''Civil War Times Illustrated,'' Vol. 46, Issue 9, November–December 2007.
*
*
*
*
Video
*
External links
Biography of Moses Jacob Ezekiel, at website of Arlington National Cemetery
* ttp://www.jewish-history.com/civilwar/moses_ezekiel.html Jewish Civil War History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezekiel, Moses Jacob
1844 births
1917 deaths
Jewish sculptors
Military personnel from Richmond, Virginia
Confederate States Army soldiers
People of Virginia in the American Civil War
Jewish Confederates
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Artists from Richmond, Virginia
Sculptors from Virginia
Jewish American military personnel
American people of Sephardic-Jewish descent
19th-century American sculptors
19th-century American male artists
American male sculptors
20th-century American sculptors
New Market cadets
Virginia Military Institute alumni
American expatriates in Italy
19th-century Sephardi Jews
Neo-Confederates
Confederate expatriates
American LGBT artists
LGBT people from Virginia
19th-century LGBT people
American Sephardic Jews
LGBT Jews
Prussian Academy of Arts alumni
American people of Dutch-Jewish descent
20th-century American male artists