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Arthur Storch (sculptor)

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Arthur Storch
self portrait in charcoal by the German sculptor and medallist Arthur Storch
Born22 March 1870 Edit this on Wikidata
Volkstedt Edit this on Wikidata
Died9 March 1947 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 76)
Rudolstadt Edit this on Wikidata
Alma mater
OccupationSculptor, medalist, ceramist Edit this on Wikidata
Delfinbrunnen (1906), Storch's fountain in Maxvorstadt, Munich

Arthur Josef Ernst Storch (1870–1947) was a German sculptor and medallist who worked in porcelain, stone and bronze.

Early life

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Arthur Storch was born on 22 March 1870 in Volkstedt [de], Rudolstadt, Germany, to a family of Thuringian porcelain artists,[1][2][3] including his father Carl Hermann Storch, a modeller and painter, and mother Caroline Florentine, née Leuthäuser.[4] He had a twin brother Hugo and younger siblings Max and Anna.[4]

Career

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From 1886 to 1888, Storch completed an apprenticeship as a model maker at the porcelain company Triebner, Ens & Eckert.[4] In 1891, he received the "great silver medal" of the Königlichen Akademie der Künste for an exhibition of student work. From 1894 to 1902, he studied under Wilhelm von Rümann at the Munich Art Academy, where he subsequently worked.[3][4] From 1902 he worked as a freelance in Munich.[4] Between 1905 and 1907 he provided stucco decoration for the ceilings of the Kurhaus, Wiesbaden.[5]

In 1911 he designed a series of eleven medals depicting animals, for the opening of Munich Zoological Garden.[4] The same year he moved to Hamburg,[3][4] where he became a member of the Hamburger Künstlerverein von 1832 [de] (Hamburg Artists' Association of 1832).

Relief of Athena (1914), Hansa-Gymnasium, Hamburg-Bergedorf

The Hansa-Gymnasium [de] in Hamburg-Bergedorf has a series of sculptures by Storch, made in 1914.[4] Facade figures below the mansard roof depict four larger-than-life ancient philosophers: Socrates, Demosthenes, Cicero and Ovid. Storch also created a figure of Athena in bas-relief on the pillar at the main entrance, and a fountain with a fox figure. This work was one of several commissions he was given by the municipal architect, Fritz Schumacher.[5]

He exhibited four animal figures at the Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung (Great German Art Exhibition) in Munich in 1937 and 1938. In 1937, Adolf Hitler purchased his bronze sculpture Horse.[6]

Personal life

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Storch married Emilie Therese Anna, née Müller, at Rudolstadt in 1903.[4] Their children were sons Hermann (1899) and Franz (1904) and daughters Elsa (1905) and Lona (1908).[4]

In 1917 he moved his family back to Volkstedt.[4]

Death and legacy

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Storch died on 9 March 1947 in Rudolstadt[3] and was buried in the cemetery at Volkstedt.[4]

His porcelain sculpture Wild Forest Creature (Mandrill Monkey), depicting a Mandrill, was one of a set of sixteen of pieces he made for the Porzellanpalais Leipzig at the 1921 Leipzig Fair; an example is in the Lightner Museum in Florida.[3][7][8] Other works are in the Staatsgalerie Moderne Kunst [de] in Munich, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Grassi Museum, Leipzig.[3]

In 2022, Thüringer Landesmuseums Heidecksburg held an exhibition of his works, marking the 75th anniversary of his death, and published an accompanying book.[4][9]

References

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  1. ^ Forrer, L. (1912). "Storch, A.". Biographical Dictionary of Medallists. Vol. V. London: Spink & Son Ltd. p. 694.
  2. ^ Forrer, L. (1930). "Storch, Arthur". Biographical Dictionary of Medallists. Vol. VIII. London: Spink & Son Ltd. p. 224.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Storch Arthur" (in German). Archived from the original on 7 June 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Saalfeld-Rudolstadt - Arthur Storch-Sonderausstellung endet mit Finissage". Kreis-slf (in German). 25 August 2022. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Arthur Storch (1870-1947)" (in German). Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
  6. ^ "Pferd — Die Großen Deutsche Kunstausstellungen 1937 – 1944/45" (in German). 5 August 2024.
  7. ^ "75 for 75: Lightner Museum Diamond Anniversary Exhibition". Lightner Museum. 22 November 2022. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  8. ^ "This remarkable porcelain ape was created for the 1921 Leipzig Fair..." Facebook. Lightner Museum. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  9. ^ Lauterbach, Jeanette (2022). Arthur Storch (1870-1947): ein Blick auf sein vielfältiges Schaffen (in German) (1. Auflage ed.). Rudolstadt: Thüringer Landesmuseum Heidecksburg. ISBN 978-3-947272-12-9.
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