Aloys Loeher (1850–1904) was an 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 ...

. He created a signature piece which was exhibited at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Among his other works are the Siegfried Monument in New York, the Fritz Reuter Monument in Chicago, and a number of medals and busts.

Life

He was born in Paderborn, Germany. He emigrated to the U.S., settling first in New York in 1883 and then

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

in 1889. While living in New York 1883-1889, Loeher was referenced several times in the New York Herald. The first, in 1883, refers to "Alois Loher, a

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n, a recent addition" in a piece about "Art and Artists on the Future of American Sculpture." In 1886, an article appeared in the New York Herald about the Statue of Germania, "a work just completed in the clay by Alois Loeher". In 1889, Loeher moved to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and became a resident of

Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...

. His address in Milwaukee was listed as Plankinton House, a boarding house located on Grand Avenue, a well-to-do residential area populated with mansions and wealthy homes. As an indication of his place in society, he was listed in the 1890-91 Directory of Milwaukee Elite. In Milwaukee Loeher's reputation grew as a sculptor and artist. In 1890, the

Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currentl ...

reported that Loeher completed a life-sized medallion portrait of

Eugen D'Albert Eugen (originally Eugène) Francis Charles d'Albert (10 April 1864 – 3 March 1932) was a Scottish-born pianist and composer. Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, he won a scholarship to stud ...

, a German composer and pianist who was visiting the city. Loeher also worked in bronze, doing portraits of local notables. Two examples of his work can be found at the

University School of Milwaukee The University School of Milwaukee (often abbreviated to USM) is an independent pre-kindergarten through secondary preparatory school in River Hills and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded as the result of the merger of three schools, Milwa ...

: a busts of Guido Pfister and Peter Engelmann, founders and benefactors of the school. In 1893 Loehr was invited to exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair (also known as the 1893 Columbian Exposition). He created a large decorative shield, three feet in diameter, filled with small

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 ...

figures of American historical significance. The shield was placed in the fine arts building at the Columbian Exposition, next to

Francis Edwin Elwell Francis Edwin Elwell (also cited as Frank Edwin Elwell) (June 15, 1858, Concord, Massachusetts – January 23, 1922, Darien, Connecticut) was an American sculptor, teacher, and author. He lectured on art at Harvard University, and taught modelin ...

's sculpture of Dickens and Little Nell. The shield's location today, if it exists at all, is unknown to Smithsonian collectors and curators.Letter dated July 8, 1991, from Shelley Mead, Painting and Sculpture Research Assistant at the Natl Museum of American Art (Smithsonian Institution), addressed to Professor Frederick I. Olsen of The University of Wisconsin. Aloys Loeher died in an accident in June 1904 in Silver Springs NY. He was 54 years old.

References

*Stanley Waterloo, Story the Shield (a detailed account of the figures on Loeher's sculpture and their significance). {{DEFAULTSORT:Loeher, Aloys 1850 births 1904 deaths German emigrants to the United States Artists from Milwaukee Sculptors from Wisconsin