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Georg John Lober | |
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 Lober in 1911 | |
| Born | November 7, 1891 |
| Died | December 14, 1961 (aged 70) |
| Known for | sculptor |
Georg John Lober (November 7, 1891 – December 14, 1961) was an Americansculptor best known for his 1959 statue of composerGeorge M. Cohan situated inTimes Square, a 1949 sculpture of statesmanThomas Paine inMorristown, New Jersey, and a bronze sculpture of Danish writerHans Christian Andersen located inCentral Park, Manhattan. He served for nearly two decades as executive secretary for the New York City Municipal Art Commission, from 1943 to 1960.
Born inChicago, Illinois, in 1892, Lober moved toKeyport, New Jersey, as a teenager.[1] Lober studied sculpture at theBeaux-Arts Institute of Design and at theNational Academy of Design. He apprenticed to sculptorGutzon Borglum, who is credited with the statesmen atMount Rushmore.[2]
Lober's first major works werebas reliefs ofRobert Fulton, inventor of the steamship, and explorerHenry Hudson in 1909. A bronze statue ofEve that he created for the1939 New York World's Fair inFlushing, Queens was destroyed by vandals. A 1949 sculpture of Revolutionary War figureThomas Paine is located inMorristown, New Jersey's Burnham Park.[1]
Lober was appointed to the New York City Municipal Art Commission in 1942; it was responsible for supervising the artistic quality of all city matters. He served as its executive secretary from 1943 to 1960.
In 1946 he and the Commission were tasked byMayor of New York CityWilliam O'Dwyer to restore portraits inNew York City Hall that had deteriorated severely. A June 1950 editorial inThe New York Times thanked Lober and the Art Commission, saying that they "deserve a pat on the back for their careful and painstaking work" in preserving the city's heritage for future generations.[2]
Lober created an 8 feet (2.4 m) seated figure ofHans Christian Andersen on a granite bench forNew York City'sCentral Park, which was installed in 1956. It was cast in bronze atLong Island City'sModern Art Foundry. The statue was designed to accompany an outdoor center for story-telling, and was placed on a 40-foot square stone platform surrounded by benches, trees and shrubs.[3] The $75,000 cost of the monument was covered in part by contributions from Danish and American schoolchildren.[4] Lober returned to the theme with his 1955 medal commemorating the 150th anniversary of Anderson's birth, created for theSociety of Medalists.
ComposerOscar Hammerstein II was the chairman of a committee that selected Lober and architectOtto F. Langmann to develop a statue of composer, playwright, and actorGeorge M. Cohan. It was installed inFather Duffy Square onBroadway at the northern end ofTimes Square inMidtown Manhattan. The statue was formally unveiled and dedicated on September 11, 1959, by MayorRobert F. Wagner.[5]
In 1912, Lober created an emblem for the Rebild National Park (Danish:Rebild Bakker] inRebild,Region Nordjylland,Denmark. He also made a bronze relief of United States PresidentAbraham Lincoln that was installed in Rebild National Park. Lober's bronze portrait of native sonHans Christian Andersen is in theOdense Museum. Denmark recognized Lober in 1950 with an appointment as a Knight of theOrder of the Dannebrog.[1]
Lober lived at 33 West 67th Street in Manhattan. He died on December 14, 1961, and was interred in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Keyport.[1][2]
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