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Richard Bock
Richard W. Bock (July 16, 1865 – June 29, 1949) was a German-born American sculptor known for his collaborations with the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials, along with the work he conducted alongside Wright.
Bock was born on July 16, 1865, in Schloppe, Germany (now Człopa, Poland), and emigrated to the United States with his family as a youth, where he grew up in German neighborhoods in Chicago.
Three years in school at the Berlin Academy studying with Schaper was followed by more studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Alexandre Falguière and then a tour of Florence, Italy. In 1891 he returned to his American hometown of Chicago to establish a permanent sculpture studio downtown. Almost immediately upon Bock's return to America, he received three major commissions. For the World'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-old apprentice, James Earle Fraser, who would later design the famous sculpture The End of the Trail and the Buffalo nickel.
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 met Frank Lloyd Wright.
Bock also created the Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument in Alton, Illinois, along with a bronze group of sculptures in Chickamauga, Georgia. For the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, 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 the pediments for Omaha's Burlington 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 the Illinois monument at the Shiloh Civil War battlefield. He also worked on sculptures for the Missouri State Building at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
Bock's first work for Frank Lloyd Wright was a frieze for the third floor of the Heller House in 1896. In 1898, Wright asked Bock to create sculptures for Wright's home in Oak Park, Illinois. 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, 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 the Dana–Thomas House. Charles E. White, Jr. wrote upon Bock's arrival at Wright's studio:
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Richard Bock
Richard W. Bock (July 16, 1865 – June 29, 1949) was a German-born American sculptor known for his collaborations with the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials, along with the work he conducted alongside Wright.
Bock was born on July 16, 1865, in Schloppe, Germany (now Człopa, Poland), and emigrated to the United States with his family as a youth, where he grew up in German neighborhoods in Chicago.
Three years in school at the Berlin Academy studying with Schaper was followed by more studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Alexandre Falguière and then a tour of Florence, Italy. In 1891 he returned to his American hometown of Chicago to establish a permanent sculpture studio downtown. Almost immediately upon Bock's return to America, he received three major commissions. For the World'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-old apprentice, James Earle Fraser, who would later design the famous sculpture The End of the Trail and the Buffalo nickel.
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 met Frank Lloyd Wright.
Bock also created the Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument in Alton, Illinois, along with a bronze group of sculptures in Chickamauga, Georgia. For the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, 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 the pediments for Omaha's Burlington 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 the Illinois monument at the Shiloh Civil War battlefield. He also worked on sculptures for the Missouri State Building at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
Bock's first work for Frank Lloyd Wright was a frieze for the third floor of the Heller House in 1896. In 1898, Wright asked Bock to create sculptures for Wright's home in Oak Park, Illinois. 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, 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 the Dana–Thomas House. Charles E. White, Jr. wrote upon Bock's arrival at Wright's studio: