Richard W. Bock (July 16, 1865 – June 29, 1949) was a German-born American sculptor known for his collaborations with the American architectFrank Lloyd Wright. He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials,^[1] along with the work he conducted alongside Wright.

Bock was born on July 16, 1865, in Schloppe, Germany (nowCzłopa,Poland), and emigrated to the United States with his family as a youth, where he grew up in German neighborhoods inChicago.^[2]

Three years in school at theBerlin Academy studying withSchaper was followed by more studying at theÉcole des Beaux-Arts in Paris underAlexandre Falguière and then a tour ofFlorence, Italy.^[2][3] In 1891 he returned to his American hometown of Chicago to establish a permanent sculpture studio downtown.^[4] Almost immediately upon Bock's return to America, he received three major commissions. For theWorld's Columbian Exposition in 1893, he sculpted major architectural works for two of the event's primary buildings, the Mining and Electricity Exposition Halls. He took on a 14-year-old apprentice,James Earle Fraser, who would later design the famous sculptureThe End of the Trail and theBuffalo nickel.^[5]

• 
  Columbian Exposition, Electricity Building
• 
  detail^[6]
• 
  Columbian Exposition Mining Building^[7]
• 
  detail

He also won a competition to execute an exterior sculpture at theIndianapolis Public Library in 1892.

He created interior bas-reliefs for Chicago's famousSchiller Building, during which time, in the winter of 1891 to 1892, Bock studied under its architectLouis Sullivan.^[3] It was in the Sullivan's office that Bock metFrank Lloyd Wright.

Bock also created theElijah P. Lovejoy Monument inAlton, Illinois, along with a bronze group of sculptures inChickamauga, Georgia. For theTrans-Mississippi Exposition inOmaha, Nebraska, in 1898, Bock composed all the sculptures for the Machinery and Electricity Building, a centerpiece of the fair. At the same time, he made thepediments for Omaha'sBurlington Train Station.

On November 1, 1899, Bock married Martha Higgins Methven, sister of his colleagueHarry Wallace Methven. After returning from their honeymoon, Bock won a competition to help create theIllinois monument at theShilohCivil War battlefield. He also worked on sculptures for theMissouri State Building at the 1904St. Louis World's Fair.^[8]

Bock's first work forFrank Lloyd Wright was a frieze for the third floor of theHeller House in 1896. In 1898, Wright asked Bock to create sculptures forWright's home inOak Park, Illinois. A few years earlier, Bock had created a statue of Wright's son John.^[3] From 1903 to 1913, Bock worked almost exclusively with Wright on multiple projects,^[9] often making Wright's architectural sculptures. Wright requested Bock's assistance after a previous sculptor, Albert Louis Van den Berghen, was not working out as planned for a planned sculpture at theDana–Thomas House.^[3] Charles E. White, Jr. wrote upon Bock's arrival at Wright's studio:

One late acquaintance, however, which gives me much pleasure, is Richard Bock, Sculptor, who has moved to Oak Park, and will occupy the balcony [of the studio]. He has decided to put himself under Mr. W[right]'s criticism for a period, as it is his ambition to become a solely Architectural Sculptor. He will do work for the Buffalo [Larkin] building ...^[3]

The two became close friends and their families often spent time together. Wright designed a sculpture studio for Bock inRiver Forest, Illinois, called "The Gnomes." The two worked together for over 20 years.^[10]Bock created two sculptures for the entrance to Wright's Office at his Home in Oak Park called "The Boulders" they are still visible from the street outside of Wright's House and Studio.

Bock provided statues for theDana–Thomas House inSpringfield, Illinois, and aplasterfrieze for the Wright-designedHeller House in Chicago.^[3][11] Bock also worked on Wright'sUnity Temple, the integrated human figures on the 1906Larkin Administration Building,^[12] two statues for theDarwin D. Martin House inBuffalo, New York,^[10] and the sculptural program at the Midway Gardens in Chicago, which Bock supervised.

TheHorse Show Fountain in Scoville Park inOak Park, Illinois, sometimes called the Wright-Bock Fountain, is generally believed to be a product of Bock, but the actual attribution is a bit fuzzy.^[13] Donald P. Hallmark, a Bock historian, stated the fountain was designed by Bock between 1907 and 1908 but with the help of famous architectFrank Lloyd Wright.^[13] It was Bock himself who suggested that it was Wright who pushed for the central opening in the fountain, and thus he "began to lay claim to the whole project."^[13] The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation claims the work as a Wright design from 1903.^[14] The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust lists Wright as the architect and Bock as the sculptor.^[15]

In 1969, the badly deteriorated originalfountain was reconstructed and a replica of Bock's work placed in Scoville Park at the corner of Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street in Oak Park.

Bock spent three years creating the figures for the Hippach Chapel at Chapel Hill Gardens West inVilla Park, Illinois. In 1929, he became the head of the Sculptural Department at theUniversity of Oregon.^[16][17] After retiring in 1932, he completed his career with a possible design for a colossus for the 1933Century of Progress exposition in Chicago.

In the 1940s, Bock and his wife moved to California, where he completed his autobiography.^[18] He died at the age of 84 in 1949, ofParkinson's disease.

Dr. Donald Hallmark, a researcher atGreenville College inGreenville, Illinois, became interested in Bock and learned that his works did not have a permanent home in a museum. He contacted the sculptor's children, who remained in possession of the collection. The children, Thorwald Methven and Dorathi Bock Pierre, donated the collection toGreenville College in 1972 on the condition that the collection always remain on display. The Richard W. Bock Sculpture Collection includes more than 300 drawings, documents and photographs, and most importantly, over 300 bronze and plaster sculptures of Bock's. In addition, some of Frank Lloyd Wright's work which had never before been displayed became part of the collection. Renovated in 2007, the Bock museum has been redesigned as a more fitting home for Bock's masterpieces. The works include an outdoor sculpture,Spring; theDarwin D. Martin House inBuffalo, New York, commissioned a copy to be made of the sculpture in 2008, as part of its $50 million remodeling project.^[19]

• 1865 births
• 1949 deaths
• People from Człopa
• People from the Province of Prussia
• Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States
• American architectural sculptors
• American male sculptors
• 19th-century American sculptors
• 19th-century American male artists
• 20th-century American sculptors
• 20th-century American male artists
• Artists from Chicago
• American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts
• Frank Lloyd Wright
• Sculptors from Illinois
• Paul Winter Consort members

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards