Roman Bronze Works, now operated as Roman Bronze Studios, is a bronze foundry in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Established in 1897 by Riccardo Bertelli, it was the first American foundry to specialize in the

lost-wax casting Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; borrowed from French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cast from an original scul ...

method, and was the country's pre-eminent art foundry during the

American Renaissance The American Renaissance was a period of American architecture and the arts from 1876 to 1917, characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance hu ...

(ca. 1876–1917).

History

Bertelli was a chemical engineer from Genoa who combined his skill in chemistry with his interest in art in starting a foundry. The foundry trademarked its namesake, Roman Bronze Works in 1900. In 1908, the foundry built a home and studio for sculptor Harry Merwin Shrady at

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982 as the Leo Friedlander Studio. Long a sub-contractor to

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...

's Tiffany Studios, the foundry moved in 1927 to Tiffany's red brick factory in

Corona, Queens Corona is a neighborhood in the Borough (New York City), borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing, Queens, Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east, Jackson Heights, Queens, Jackson Heights to the west, Forest Hill ...

, New York. The General Bronze Corporation purchased the Roman Bronze Works in 1928. This ownership lasted for twenty years, up until 1948, during which it produced some of its finest bronze artworks from sculptors such as

Paul Manship Paul Howard Manship (December 25, 1885 – January 31, 1966) was an American Sculpture, sculptor. He consistently created mythological pieces in a classical style, and was a major force in the Art Deco in the United States, Art Deco movement. ...

and Rene Chambellan to Lee Lawrie. The foundry's mold makers, casters, chasers and finishers, and patinaters cast sculptures from plaster and terra cotta models provided by sculptors. They also scaled down monumental and other finished works for editions of collectors' bronzes, allowing works by

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculpture, sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works include ''The Minute Man'', an 1874 statue in Concord, Massachusetts, and his Statue of Abr ...

, Augustus Lukeman and

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

to ornament a private library or drawing room. From 1898,

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United Sta ...

worked exclusively with Roman Bronze Works, as did Charles M. Russell. Remington bronzes were being cast by Roman Bronze Works as late as the 1980s.Rita Reif. Roman Bronze Works was purchased in 1946 by Salvatore Schiavo, whose father had worked at the foundry since 1902. His nephew, Philip J. Schiavo, the grandson of the first Schiavo, was the president of the foundry until its closing. The

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

was originally made by Dieges & Clust in New York (and later Providence, Rhode Island) from its inception in 1935 until 1980, when Dieges and Clust was sold to Herff Jones. However, for a time until at least 2008, the Roman Bronze Works cast the

statues awarded annually to the best

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player and his university. After the foundry closed, original plaster models of major works by American artists

, Charles Russell, Bessie Potter Vonnoh and Anna Hyatt Huntington were auctioned off in New York on September 17, 1988. Some of the molds were moved to warehouses in

Copiague, New York Copiague ( ) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet on Long Island (and census-designated place) in the Town of Babylon, New York, Town of Babylon, in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was ...

, under the aegis of American Art Restoration, Inc. The business archives were preserved and are now at the Amon Carter Museum Library in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2002, Schiffer Publishing released a book about Roman Bronze Works, ''A Century of American Sculpture; The Roman Bronze Works Foundry'', written by Lucy D. Rosenfeld and based on the firm's ledgers and archival photographs at the museum. Brian Ramnarine, who worked at Roman Bronze Works and opened his foundry in Queens (Long Island City) NY under the name ''Empire Bronze Art Foundry'', was charged in Manhattan Federal Court in November 2012 with an $11 million scheme to sell an unauthorized casting of a work by

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker. Considered a central figure in the development of American postwar art, he has been variously associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and ...

. He was arraigned in October 2002 on charges of grand larceny, falsifying business records, scheme to defraud and criminal simulation. In February 2003 he pleaded guilty to making unauthorized copies of sculptures, agreeing to pay $100,000 in restitution.

Notable works

* Bronco Buster, one of many sculptures created by Remington and cast by Roman Bronze Works (ca. 1901) * Confederate Soldiers Monument Sculptures by Pompeo Coppini located on the grounds outside the

Texas State Capitol The Texas State Capitol is the capitol and seat of government of the U.S. state of Texas. Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the structure houses the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and of the Governor of Texas. Designed in 188 ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

(1903) * The Marquis de Lafayette, by Paul Wayland Bartlett,

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

(1907) * Leo Friedlander Studio in Greenburgh,

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

(1908) * Stevens T. Mason by Albert Weinert (1908) * Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial by J. Massey Rhind at Indiana Plaza in

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 ...

(1909) * McMillan Fountain by Herbert Adams at

McMillan Reservoir The McMillan Reservoir is a reservoir in Washington, D.C., that supplies most of the city's municipal water. It was originally called the Howard University Reservoir or the Washington City Reservoir, and was completed in 1902 by the U.S. Army Co ...

in Washington, D.C. (1912) * Equestrian statue of George Washington by J. Massey Rhind in Washington Park,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

(1912) * The Great Rivers, the Missouri and the Mississippi, by

Robert Ingersoll Aitken Robert Ingersoll Aitken (May 8, 1878 – January 3, 1949) was an American sculpture, sculptor. Perhaps his most famous work is the West Pediment of the United States Supreme Court Building. Life and career Born to Charles H. Aitken and Katherin ...

Missouri State Capitol The Missouri State Capitol is the home of the Missouri General Assembly and the Executive (government), executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Missouri. Located in Jefferson City, Missouri, Jefferson City at 201 West Capitol Avenue, ...

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

(1917) *''

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

'' by

Ettore Ximenes Ettore Ximenes (11 April 1855 20 December 1926) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Ettore Ximenes was born 11 April 1855 in Palermo, Italy. Son of Antonio Ximenes and Giulia Tolentino, a Sicilian noble woman, Ettore Ximenes initially embarked o ...

at Meridian Hill Park in

(1921) * Ulysses S. Grant Memorial by Henry Shrady at

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

in Washington, D.C. (1924) * Pioneer Woman, by Bryant Baker, Ponca City, Oklahoma (1930) *

Prometheus (Manship) ''Prometheus'' is a 1934 gilding, gilded, cast bronze, cast bronze sculpture by Paul Manship, located above the lower plaza at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, New York City. It was created by the Roman Bronze Works, a subsidiary of the General ...

(1934) *

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

, iconic statue by Lee Lawrie located in

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

(1937) * Thomas Jefferson Statue located in the Jefferson Memorial in

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 ...

by Rudolph Evans (1947) *

Frank Eliscu Frank Eliscu (July 13, 1912 – June 19, 1996) was an American sculptor and art teacher who designed and created the Heisman Memorial Football Trophy in 1935 when he was only 23 years old. The first Heisman Trophy, a strong young bull of a foo ...

(1980-2008)

Artists

Artists who had works cast by the Roman Bronze Works include: * Herbert Adams * Robert Aitken * Carl Ethan Akeley * Louis Amateis * John Angel * Joseph Bailly * Bryant Baker * Max Kalish * Clement Barnhorn * Richmond Barthé * Paul Wayland Bartlett * Chester Beach * Thomas Hart Benton * Edward Berge * Karl Bitter *

Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (March 25, 1867 – March 6, 1941) was an American sculpture, sculptor best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. He is also associated with various other public works of art across the U.S., including Stone Moun ...

* Solon Borglum * John J. Boyle *

Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl (1834 – August 22, 1899) was an American sculptor. He is best known for his American Civil War, Civil War monuments, for the terra cotta relief panels on the James A. Garfield Memorial, Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio (d ...

Alexander Stirling Calder Alexander Stirling Calder (January 11, 1870 – January 7, 1945) was an American sculpture, sculptor and teacher. He was the son of sculptor Alexander Milne Calder and the father of sculptor Alexander Calder, Alexander (Sandy) Calder. His best-kn ...

* Mary Callery * Rene Paul Chambellan * James L. Clark * Matchett Herring Coe * Pompeo Coppini * William Couper * Henri Crenier * John K. Daniels *

Jo Davidson Jo Davidson (March 30, 1883 – January 2, 1952) was an American sculptor. Although he specialized in realistic, intense portrait busts, Davidson did not require his subjects to formally pose for him; rather, he observed and spoke with them. ...

* Donald De Lue * Gleb Derujinsky * Alexander Doyle *

Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American Realism (visual arts), realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artist ...

Ulric Ellerhusen Ulric Henry Ellerhusen (1879–1957) first name variously cited as Ulrich or Ulrik, surname sometimes cited as Ellerhousen) was a German-American sculptor and teacher best known for his architectural sculpture. His works include 70 sculptures fo ...

* Rudolph Evans *

Avard Fairbanks Avard Tennyson Fairbanks (March 2, 1897 – January 1, 1987) was a 20th-century American sculptor. Over his eighty-year career, he sculpted over 100 public monuments and hundreds of artworks. Fairbanks is known for his religious-themed commis ...

* Sally James Farnham * Nicolai Fechin * Gaetano Federici * Beatrice Fenton * Duncan Ferguson * Alexander Finta * John Flanagan * James Earle Fraser * Marshall Fredericks *

Leo Friedlander Leo Friedlander (July 6, 1888 – October 24, 1966) was an American sculpture, sculptor, who created several prominent works. Early life and education At 12 years old, Friedlander studied at the Art Students League of New York, Art Students Lea ...

* Harriet Whitney Frishmuth * Sherry Fry * Merrell Gage *

Rube Goldberg Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), better known as Rube Goldberg (), was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated ...

* Charles Grafly * John Gregory * Walker Hancock *

Oskar J. W. Hansen Oskar J. W. Hansen (March 12, 1892 – August 31, 1971
Obituary, New York Time ...

* Jonathan Scott Hartley * Eli Harvey * Herbert Haseltine * Carl Augustus Heber * Henry Hering *

Frederick Hibbard Frederick Cleveland Hibbard (June 15, 1881 – December 12, 1950) was an American sculptor based in Chicago, Illinois, Chicago. Hibbard is best remembered for his American Civil War, Civil War memorials, produced to commemorate both the Grand Ar ...

Malvina Hoffman Malvina Cornell Hoffman (June 15, 1885July 10, 1966) was an American sculpture, sculptor and author, well known for her life-size bronze sculptures of people. She also worked in plaster and marble. Hoffman created portrait busts of working-class ...

* Milton Horn * Anna Hyatt Huntington *

C. Paul Jennewein Carl Paul Jennewein (December 2, 1890 – February 22, 1978) was a German-born American sculptor. Early career Jennewein was born in Stuttgart in Germany. At the age of seventeen, he immigrated to the United States in 1907. He was apprent ...

* Burt Johnson * Sylvia Shaw Judson * Charles Keck * James Kelly *

Henry Hudson Kitson Henry Hudson Kitson (April 9, 1863, 1864 or 1865 – June 26, 1947) was an English-American sculptor who sculpted many representations of American military heroes. Romania's Elisabeth of Wied, Queen Elisabeth knighted him after he sculpted ...

* Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson * Charles R. Knight * Isidore Konti * Mario Korbel * Gaston Lachaise *

Albert Laessle Albert Laessle (March 28, 1877 – September 4, 1954) was an American sculptor and educator. He taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for more than twenty years and is best remembered as an animalier. He won the 1918 Widener Gold ...

* Lee Lawrie * William Robinson Leigh * Leo Lentelli * Oscar Lenz *

Jacques Lipchitz Jacques Lipchitz (26 May 1973) was a Lithuanian-born French-American Cubist sculptor. Lipchitz retained highly figurative and legible components in his work leading up to 1915–16, after which naturalist and descriptive elements were muted, domi ...

* Julius Loester * Evelyn Beatrice Longman * Lawrence Monroe Ludtke * Augustus Lukeman * Frederick MacMonnies * Hermon A. MacNeil * Oronzio Maldarelli *

Philip Martiny Philip H. Martiny (May 19, 1858 – June 26, 1927) was a French-American sculptor who worked in the Paris atelier of Eugene Dock, where he became foreman before emigrating to New York in 1878—to avoid conscription in the French army, he later ...

Edward McCartan Edward Francis McCartan (August 16, 1879 – September 20, 1947) was an American sculptor, best known for his decorative bronzes done in an elegant style popular in the 1920s. Life Born in Albany, New York, he studied at the Pratt Institute, ...

* R. Tait McKenzie *

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian and Yugoslav sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pa ...

* Emily Winthrop Miles * Burr Churchill Miller * J. Maxwell Miller *

Carl Milles Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedes, Swedish sculpture, sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the ...

* Bruce Moore * Giuseppe Moretti * Arthur C. Morgan * Carl Mose * Samuel Murray * Reuben Nakian *

Charles Niehaus Charles Henry Niehaus (January 24, 1855 – June 19, 1935) was an American sculptor. Early life and education Niehaus was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to German parents. He began working as a marble and wood carver, and then gained entrance to the ...

* Clark Nobel *

Isamu Noguchi was an American artist, furniture designer and Landscape architecture, landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Grah ...

* Andrew O'Connor * Francis Packer * Bashka Paeff * Edith Parsons * William Ordway Partridge * Roland Hinton Perry *

Albin Polasek Albin Polasek (; February 14, 1879 – May 19, 1965) was a Austria-Hungarian–born American sculptor and educator. A practicing artist, he also headed the sculpture department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He created more th ...

* Joseph Pollia * Bela Pratt * Alexander Phimister Proctor * Arthur Putnam * Edmond Thomas Quinn * Vinnie Ream *

* J. Massey Rhind * Ulysses Ricci * Myra Reynolds Richards * Hugo Robus * Carlo Romanelli *

Charles Umlauf Charles Umlauf (July 17, 1911 – November 19, 1994) was an American sculptor and teacher who was born in South Haven, Michigan. His sculptures can be found in churches, numerous public institutions, outdoor locations, and museums, including the ...

* Katharine Lane Weems * Carel Wirtz * Mahonri Young

Partnerships

Roman Bronze Works had significant partnerships with the following artists: *

- Although uncertain, Roman Bronze Works partnership with Frederic Remington is thought to have begun around 1901 with the creation of The Cheyenne. This marked a move from the sand process casts of the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company to the lost-wax casting method used by Roman Bronze Works. Remington and Bertelli had a close relationship as expressed in Remington's continual presence at the foundry. Remington was often called to examine new models and to retouch the designs when necessary. Roman Bronze Works continued to create works after his death. After his and his wife's death, surmoulages were created using both original bronzes and replicas. * Charles M. Russell * Tiffany Studios

Notes

External links

Smithsonian Institution items cast by Roman Bronze Works
{{Authority control Foundries in the United States American sculpture Manufacturing companies based in New York City American companies established in 1897 Design companies established in 1897 Corona, Queens