Browse Items (86 total)
- Collection: Permanent Sculpture Collection
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Julius Runge (1851-1906), plaster, modeled 1887, this cast of Julius 1887
Julius Runge, the son of German immigrants, was a prominent merchant, financier, and public official based in Galveston. He was also The German Consul for the young state, and helped Ney acquire the Liendo Plantation in Hempstead. In 1887, she…
Johanna Runge (1856-1933), plaster, modeled 1887, this cast of Johanna 1900
Julius Runge, the son of German immigrants, was a prominent merchant, financier, and public official based in Galveston. He was also The German Consul for the young state, and helped Ney acquire the Liendo Plantation in Hempstead. In 1887, she…
Cast showing musculature of shoulder and arm (mass produced), n.d.
Arm Muscles, a manufactured plaster cast study showing muscles of the upper shoulder. The assumption held by the majority suggests this object was a study aid and not created by Ney herself.
Jacob Bickler (1849-1902), plaster, circa 1902
This bas-relief profile portrait commemorates Ney’s friend and neighbor Jacob Bickler, who established the Bickler Academy in 1892. In addition to collaborating on community projects with Bickler, Ney often planned special events at her studio for…
John Henninger Reagan (1818-1905), plaster, 1895
John Reagan served several terms in the U.S. House and Senate and also held posts with the Confederate States of America, including Postmaster General and Secretary of the Treasury. He was serving as chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas when…
Joseph B. Dibrell (1855-1934), plaster, 1901
Senator Dibrell of Seguin was the husband of Elisabet’s close friend Ella Dancy Dibrell. Senator Dibrell served as Elisabet’s occasional advisor and would champion Elisabet’s work in bureaucratic circles as energetically as his wife did in social…
Oran Milo Roberts (1815-1898), plaster, modeled 1882; this cast 1898
A member of the Texas Supreme Court, a two-term governor (1879-83), and the first law professor at the new University of Texas, Oran Roberts was a fellow landowner in Waller County, where Liendo, Ney’s country home, was located. He was one of Ney’s…
Sullivan “Sul” Ross (1838-1898), marble, 1902
This bust depicts former Texas governor Sullivan Ross (1887-91), whose family helped establish the city of Waco.
Francis R. Lubbock (1815-1905), marble, modeled 1895; cut 1895-97
One of the first portrait busts that Ney executed in her Austin studio was that of the former Texas governor Francis Lubbock (1861-63). Along with his wife, Gov. Lubbock became one of the many public figures who strongly supported Ney’s work.…
Joseph Draper Sayers (1841-1929), marble, 1902
Governor Sayers (1899-1903) supported Ney’s endeavors by appropriating state funds to commission the marble figures of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston for the Capitol, and helped her secure later work. In 1911 Sayers became a founding member of…
Heroic Bust of Christ, marble, modeled 1896; cut 1904
Ney completed this bust of Christ in hopes that it would be exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Unfortunately, the bust was never placed on display due to space restrictions and was later sold to a private collector. Ney, though raised…
King Ludwig II of Bavaria, plaster, 1869
Ney made this portrait bust of King Ludwig II as a study for the final full-size sculpture. The final marble bust is in Hohenschwangau Castle.
Amalie Weiss Joachim (1839-1899), plaster, 1867
Joseph Joachim, the Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor, and his wife, a noted contralto, commissioned these portrait busts. The iron tacks in the bust of Frau Joachim are part of a process called pointing, in which the stonecutter takes…
Joseph Joachim (1831-1907), plaster, 1867
Joseph Joachim, the Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor, and his wife, a noted contralto, commissioned these portrait busts. The iron tacks in the bust of Frau Joachim are part of a process called pointing, in which the stonecutter takes…
Head from a miniature bust of Edmund Montgomery, plaster, circa 1920
This study was made by Ney’s grandson, Theodore Roosevelt Montgomery (1901-1977), the fourth of Lorne’s six children. The work was modeled after Ney’s portrait of Edmund.
Tray with tools, Bowl with clay fragments
These are original tools and clay fragments from Ney’s studio.
Cast of Lorne’s left ear, 1886
Ney created many plaster casts using friends and family members as models, such as this ear of Lorne and clasped hands of Lorne and Cenci, the family’s lifelong house keeper. Some, such as the large nose (said to be modeled after Michelangelo’s…
Clasped hands (possibly Lorne and Cenci), 1880-86
This model features a pair of clasped hands, which are thought to have been those of Lorne and Cencie. Crescentia Simath, or Cencie, served as Elisabet Ney and Edmund Montgomery's long-time housekeeper. She moved several times with the couple, even…
Miller Baby, plaster, 1899
Ney created this death cast of the deceased one-month-old child of her close friends and Austin neighbors Anita and Clarence Miller. Up until the late nineteenth century, death casts were commonly made as memorials.
Unknown man, plaster, 1859
While this individual has long remained unidentified, recent scholarship has suggested that he may be Friedrich Kaulbach, the artist who painted Ney’s full-length portrait in 1860 (a reproduction of which is hanging in this room).
Justus von Liebig (1803-1873), plaster, 1868
As president of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Justus von Liebig was responsible for the development of chemical fertilizer, which revolutionized agriculture. Liebig and Wöhler often collaborated with each other and are known as pioneers in modern…
Friedrich Wöhler (1800-1882), plaster, 1868
Friedrich Wöhler was professor of medicine, chemistry, and pharmacy at the University of Göttingen. As a frequent attendee at his lectures, Ney was given the opportunity to execute this bust of him.
Elizabeth Wentzel-Heckmann (1833-1914), plaster, 1896
Ney made this bust on a trip to Berlin in 1896. Elizabeth Wentzel-Heckmann wears the golden collar of the Wilhelm-Orden, reading WILHELMUS T REX (for King Wilhelm), an exclusive award granted for her contributions to the social and civic life of…
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), plaster, modeled 1859; this cast 1896
In 1857, when Ney opened her Berlin studio, she set out to persuade the famous philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer to model for a portrait bust. Famously reclusive, Schopenhauer originally refused the offer. Through her own persistence, Ney was able to…
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), marble, modeled 1865; cut 1866
A famous and inspirational figure in the Nineteenth Century Democracy movement, Giuseppe Garibaldi played a central role in the Risorgimento, or Italian unification, as well as uprisings in South America. In 1865 he was living in exile at his home in…