Frederick Ernest "Fritz" Triebel (December 29, 1865 – 1944) was an American sculptor, best remembered for his two works, marble statues of

George Laird Shoup George Laird Shoup (June 15, 1836December 21, 1904) was an American politician who served as the first governor of Idaho, in addition to its last territorial governor. He served several months after statehood in 1890 and then became one of the s ...

and

Henry Mower Rice Henry Mower Rice (November 29, 1816January 15, 1894) was a fur trader and an American politician prominent in the statehood of Minnesota. Early life Henry Rice was born on November 29, 1816, in Waitsfield, Vermont to Edmund Rice and Ellen (Dur ...

, located in the

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old Hal ...

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Early life

He was born in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

on December 29, 1865, where his father was a monument maker. His father Otto had been apprenticed as a stone carver in Germany before immigrating to the United States and it was likely from him that Triebel learned the rudiments of sculpting.

Career

At the age of 16 Triebel was apprenticed to a stone carver in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and from there he moved to first

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and then

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. In 1882 he won a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence was a centre of medieval European t ...

where he attended and prospered. While there, he married Santina Grosse. Their first two children, Dante and Beatrice were born in Italy. In the early 1890s Triebel was invited to be a part of the international sculpture selection jury for the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

. He also exhibited six works at the exposition and sold everything he exhibited. In 1899, Triebel moved from Italy to New York. He was the first artist to create a studio in MacDougal Alley. He lived in No. 6. In 1919, he applied for a job as a tracer at the Hog Island shipyard.

Death

Triebel died on September 14, 1944.

Selected works

* Soldiers and Sailors Monument, 1899, Peoria Courthouse * Regimental and central monuments to Iowa Union soldiers,

Shiloh National Military Park Shiloh National Military Park preserves the American Civil War Shiloh and Corinth battlefields. The main section of the park is in the unincorporated community of Shiloh, about south of Savannah, Tennessee, with additional areas located ...

, 1906 * Bronze statue of

Robert G. Ingersoll Robert Green Ingersoll (; August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899), nicknamed "the Great Agnostic", was an American lawyer, writer, and orator during the Golden Age of Free Thought, who campaigned in defense of agnosticism. Personal life Robert Inge ...

, 1911 * Bronze works featured on the Mississippi State Memorial,

Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi, flanking the Mississippi River, also commemorates the greater ...

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

, 1912

References

External links

* 1865 births 1944 deaths Artists from Peoria, Illinois American people of German descent 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists 19th-century American sculptors 19th-century American male artists American male sculptors Sculptors from Illinois {{US-sculptor-stub