- Richard Bock
Richard W. Bock (1865-1949) was an American
sculptor and associate ofFrank Lloyd Wright .He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials, Lorado Taft, [http://books.google.com/books?id=sD4CAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA526&dq=richard+bock+sculptor&ie=ISO-8859-1 "The History of American Sculpture"] . Consulted on August 14, 2007. ] along with the work he conducted alongside Wright.
Early years
He was born on
July 16 ,1865 in Schloppe,Germany but moved toChicago, Illinois with his family as a youth, where he grew up in German neighborhoods. Anthony Alofsin, [http://books.google.com/books?id=JXOzv7PZePgC&pg=PA134&dq=richard+bock+sculptor&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=da0NZFxhgJGeFWwuA_x394iQYd4 "Frank Lloyd Wright--The Lost Years, 1910-1922: A Study of Influence"] . Consulted on August 15, 2007. ]Three years in school at the
Berlin Academy studying with Schaper was followed by more studying at theEcole des Beaux Arts School inParis underAlexandre Falguière and then a tour ofFlorence, Italy . Donald Hoffmann, [http://books.google.com/books?id=Dflhfso1qPYC&pg=PA54&dq=richard+bock+sculptor&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=XUGNyvqTIuaX8Fce8fvprn8ceVg#PPA54,M1 "Frank Lloyd Wright's Dana House"] . Consulted on August 14, 2007. ] In 1891 he returned to his American hometown of Chicago to establish a permanent sculpture studio downtown. [ Opitz, Glenn B, Editor, "Mantle Fielding’s Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers," Apollo Book, Poughkeepsie NY, 1986 ] Almost immediately upon Bock's return to America, he received three major commissions. For theWorld's Columbian Exposition in 1893, he sculpted major architectural works for two of the event's primary buildings, the Mining and Electricity Exposition Halls. He took on a 14-year-oldapprentice , James Earle Fraser, who would later design the famous sculpture "The End of the Trail" and theBuffalo nickel . August L. Freundlich, [http://books.google.com/books?id=QGQeMrwIyAQC&pg=PA11&dq=richard+bock+sculptor&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=3FEl1F08GJ8pt2wItMZtUb7GTpc "The Sculpture of James Earle Fraser"] . Consulted on August 15, 2007. ]He also won a competition to execute an exterior sculpture at the
Indianapolis Public Library in 1892.He created interior bas-reliefs for Chicago's famous Schiller Building, during which time, in the winter of 1891 to 1892, Bock studied under its
architect Louis Sullivan . It was in the Sullivan's office that Bock metFrank Lloyd Wright .Bock also created the
Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument inAlton, Illinois along with a bronze group of sculptures inChickamauga, Georgia . For theTrans-Mississippi Exposition inOmaha, Nebraska in 1898, Bock composed all the sculptures for the Machinery and Electricity Building, a centerpiece of the fair. At the same time, he made thepediment s for Omaha'sBurlington Train Station .On November 1, 1899, Bock married Martha Higgins Methven, sister of his colleague
Harry Wallace Methven . After returning from their honeymoon, Bock won a competition to help create theIllinois monument at theShiloh Civil War battlefield. He also worked on sculptures for theMissouri State Building at the 1904St. Louis World's Fair . [ "The Greatest of Expositions, Completely Illustrated: Official Publication", Published by the Official Photographic Company of the Louisiana Purchase, St Louis, MO 1904 ]Collaboration with Frank Lloyd Wright
In 1903,
Frank Lloyd Wright asked Bock to create sculptures for Wright's home inOak Park, Illinois and for other architectural projects that Wright was working on at the time. A few years earlier, Bock had created a statue of Wright's son John. From 1903 to 1913, Bock worked almost exclusively with Wright on multiple projects, Robert C. Twombly, [http://books.google.com/books?id=KSA1HTTU-eMC&pg=PA153&ots=z44gS3FS3G&dq=richard+bock+sculptor&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=9OviGMQe_XHZwP0mQ0ZrgcF3E0g "Frank Lloyd Wright: His Life and His Architecture"] . Consulted on August 14, 2007. ] often making Wright's architectural sculptures. Wright requested Bock's assistance after a previous sculptor, Albert Louis Van den Berghen, was not working out as planned for a planned sculpture at theDana-Thomas House . Charles E. White, Jr. wrote upon Bock's arrival at Wright's studio:"One late acquaintance, however, which gives me much pleasure, is Richard Bock, Sculptor, who has moved to Oak Park, and will occupy the balcony [of the studio] . He has decided to put himself under Mr. W [right] 's criticism for a period, as it is his ambition to become a solely Architectural Sculptor. He will do work for the Buffalo [Larkin] building..."
The two became close friends and their families often spent time together. Wright designed a sculpture studio for Bock in
River Forest, Illinois called "The Gnomes." The two worked together for over 20 years. Carla Lind, [http://books.google.com/books?id=D83181Xu1T8C&pg=PA53&ots=tjIa_rdfsM&dq=richard+bock+sculptor&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=1rxB4MpufL9rpNfji8Xr8lWF818 "Frank Lloyd Wright's Furnishings"] . Consulted on August 14, 2007. ]Works
Bock provided a statues for the
Dana-Thomas House inSpringfield, Illinois and aplaster frieze for the Wright-designedHeller House in Chicago. Brendan Gill, [http://books.google.com/books?id=H1w2YH6DG1IC&pg=PA127&dq=richard+bock+sculptor&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=N59s0YrNPMHKLfJ0KbOAFwXRZK8#PPA127,M1 "Many Masks: A Life of Frank Lloyd Wright"] . Consulted on August 14, 2007. ] Bock also worked on Wright'sUnity Temple , the integrated human figures on the 1906Larkin Administration Building , Frank Lloyd Wright, [http://books.google.com/books?id=Vzu-QjV2MbgC&pg=PA7&ots=Ocvl1HDXCf&dq=richard+bock+sculptor&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=SkIbLyxAvZv_8VsqYzSBQ5R0QYY "The Early Work of Frank Lloyd Wright: The "Ausgefuhrte Bauten" of 1911"] . Consulted on August 14, 2007. ] , two statues for theDarwin D. Martin House inBuffalo, New York , and the sculptural program at the Midway Gardens in Chicago, which Bock supervised.The
Horse Show Fountain in Scoville Park inOak Park, Illinois , sometimes called the Wright-Bock Fountain, is generally believed to be a product of Bock, but the actual attribution is a bit fuzzy. Donald P. Hallmark, a Bock historian, stated the fountain was designed by Bock between 1907 and 1908 but with the help of famous architectFrank Lloyd Wright . It was Bock himself who suggested that it was Wright who pushed for the central opening in the fountain, and thus he "began to lay claim to the whole project.""National Register Nomination Form", p. 20.] The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation claims the work as a Wright design from 1903." [http://www.franklloydwright.org/index.cfm?section=research&action=display&id=47 Frank Lloyd Wright works 1903–1904] ," "Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation". Retrieved6 June 2007 .] The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust lists Wright as the architect and Bock as the sculptor.Frank Lloyd Wright Architectural Guide Map, "Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust".]In 1969, the badly deteriorated original
fountain was reconstructed and a replica of Bock's work placed in Scoville Park at the corner of Oak Park Drive and Lake Street in Oak Park.Later years
Bock spent three years creating the figures for the Hippach Chapel at Chapel Hill Gardens West in
Villa Park, Illinois . In 1929, he became the head of the Sculptural Department at theUniversity of Oregon . After retiring in 1932, he completed his career with a possible design for a colossus for the 1933Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago.In the 1940s, Bock and his wife moved to
California , where he completed hisautobiography . [ Bock, Richard W., "Memoirs of an American Artist", ed. Dorathi Bock Pierre, C.C. Publishing Co., Los Angeles CA 1991 ] He died at the age of 84 in 1949, ofParkinson's Disease .After a researcher at
Greenville College inGreenville, Illinois became interested in Bock and learned that his works did not have a permanent home in a museum, he contacted the sculptor's children, who remained in possession of the collection. The children, Thorwald Methven and Dorathi Bock Pierre, donated the collection toGreenville College in 1972 on the condition that the collection always remain on display. The Richard W. Bock Sculpture Collection includes drawings, documents and photographs, and most importantly, over 300 bronze and plaster sculptures of Bock's. In addition, some of Frank Lloyd Wright's work which had never before been displayed became part of the collection. Recently renovated, the Bock museum has been redesigned as a fitting home for Bock's masterpieces.References
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