Frederick Triebel Explained

Frederick Ernest "Fritz" Triebel (December 29, 1865 – 1944) was an American sculptor, best remembered for his two works, marble statues of George Laird Shoup and Henry Mower Rice, located in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington D.C.

Early life

He was born in Peoria, Illinois on December 29, 1865,^[1] where his father was a monument maker.^[2] 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.^[3]

Career

At the age of 16 Triebel was apprenticed to a stone carver in Chicago, and from there he moved to first New York and then Boston. In 1882 he won a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy 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.^[4] He also exhibited six works at the exposition and sold everything he exhibited.^{[5] [6]}

In 1899, Triebel moved from Italy to New York. He was the first artist to create a studio in MacDougal Alley.^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]} He lived in No. 6.^[12]

In 1919, he applied for a job as a tracer at the Hog Island shipyard.^[13]

Death

Triebel died on September 14, 1944.^[14]

Selected works

• Soldiers and Sailors Monument, 1899, Peoria Courthouse^{[15] [16] [17]}
• Regimental and central monuments to Iowa Union soldiers, Shiloh National Military Park, 1906
• Bronze statue of Robert G. Ingersoll, Peoria, Illinois, 1911^{[18] [19] [20]}
• Bronze works featured on the Mississippi State Memorial, Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1912

Notes and References

1. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925; Roll #: 526; Volume #: Roll 0526 - Certificates: 19500-19749, 29 May 1918-01 Jun 1918
2. Web site: Frederick "Fritz" Triebel . 2013-02-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924030356/http://www.historicillinois.com/databaseitems/37-people/peoria-people/81-frederick-triebel . 2015-09-24 . dead .
3. Web site: Buedel . Matt . 2016-03-23 . Father and son sculptors Otto and Fritz Triebel tell stories all around Peoria . 2024-04-01 . Peoria Journal Star . en-US.
4. Cooley, Adelaide N. The Monument Maker: A Biography of Frederick Ernest Triebel, The rediscovery of a forgotten American sculptor Exposition Press, Hicksville NY, 1978 p.7-8
5. Revisiting the White City: American Art at the 1893 World's Fair, National Museum of American Art and National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., 1993 pp.378-379
6. News: 1893-12-23 . Foreign Artists at the World's Fair Disposing of But Few Pieces . Huron Daily Huronite . 1.
7. Web site: NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK NOMINATION: Whitney Museum of American Art .
8. News: 1905-06-04 . Stables and Studios Shoulder to Shoulder . 2024-04-02 . The Washington Post . 6.
9. Web site: Saga Beus, Sara Burkhart, Lulu Fleming-Benite, Nina Hood, Shu Han Liu, Ozana Pleminitash, Kristy Schwartzman, and Sarah Seiler . Greenwich Village Artists: A Two-Part, Self-Guided Walking Tour .
10. Web site: Kiel . Mark . Creating History . 2024-04-02 . The Peorian . en-gb.
11. Book: Farnsworth, P.T. . The Craftsman: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine in the Interest of Better Art, Better Work, and a Better and More Reasonable Way of Living . 1907 . United Crafts . 57–69 . en.
12. Web site: Schulz . Dana . 2020-08-17 . You can rent a rare carriage house on MacDougal Alley for $10K/month 6sqft . 2024-04-02 . en-US.
13. News: 1919-01-25 . Sculptor Who Made Great War Sacrifice . Boston Post Newspaper . 31.
14. New York Department of Health; Albany, NY; NY State Death Index
15. News: 1899-10-12 . A Soldier's Monument . Emporium Cameron County Press . 3.
16. Web site: Panetta . Gary . 2008-11-22 . Panetta: Piecing together life of a sculptor . 2024-04-01 . Peoria Journal Star . en-US.
17. Rennick . Percival Graham . 1935 . The Peoria and Galena Trail and Coach Road and the Peoria Neighborhood . Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society . 27 . 4 . 351–431 . 40187848 . 0019-2287.
18. News: 1906-06-21 . A Monument to Ingersoll . Galva Weekly News . 19.
19. News: 1911-03-17 . "Bob" in Bronze: Statue of Ingersoll to stand in a Peoria Park . The Green River Star . 7.
20. 1912 . Editorial . Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society . 4 . 4 . 519–534 . 40194430 . 0019-2287.