Enrico Cerracchio (March 14, 1880 – March 20, 1956) was an Italian-born American sculptor and painter. He designed many statues, including the 1925
Sam Houston Monument in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
.
Early life
Cerracchio was born on March 14, 1880, in
Castelvetere in Val Fortore
Castelvetere in Val Fortore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 90 km northeast of Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápol ...
, Italy.
He emigrated to the United States in 1900,
and he became a U.S. citizen in 1905.
Career
Cerracchio designed the
Sam Houston Monument in
Hermann Park, Houston, Texas in 1925.
It was "one of the largest equestrian monuments" in the United States at the time.
He designed the bust of Governor
Miriam A. Ferguson
Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson (June 13, 1875 – June 25, 1961) was an American politician who served two non-consecutive terms as the governor of Texas: from 1925 to 1927, and from 1933 to 1935. She was the first female governor of Texas, ...
in the
Texas State Capitol and that of Confederate General
John A. Wharton
John Austin Wharton (July 23, 1828 – April 6, 1865) was a lawyer, plantation owner, and Confederate general during the American Civil War. He is considered one of the Confederacy's best tactical cavalry commanders.
Early life
Wharton was ...
in the
Texas State Cemetery.
He also designed statues of
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
and
John Nance Garner
John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was an American History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and lawyer from History of Texas, Texas who ...
.
He sculpted a bronze bust of
Jesse H. Jones
Jesse Holman Jones (April 5, 1874June 1, 1956) was an American Democratic politician and entrepreneur from Houston, Texas. Jones managed a Tennessee tobacco factory at age fourteen, and at nineteen, he was put in charge of his uncle's lumbery ...
, which was unveiled at a "Jesse H. Jones Day" ceremony in Houston on December 26, 1934.
Personal life and death
With his wife Marion Kowalski, Cerracchio had a son and a daughter.
Cerracchio died on March 20, 1956, in New York City, at age 76.
His funeral was held at
Our Lady of Mercy's Church in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
.
References
1880 births
1956 deaths
People from the Province of Benevento
People from Houston
Italian emigrants to the United States
People with acquired American citizenship
Sculptors from Texas
Italian male sculptors
19th-century Italian sculptors
20th-century Italian sculptors
20th-century American male artists
Italian male painters
19th-century Italian painters
20th-century Italian painters
American male sculptors
19th-century American sculptors
19th-century Italian male artists
20th-century American sculptors
American male painters
19th-century American painters
20th-century American painters
19th-century American male artists
20th-century Italian male artists
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