Lot 361: Bronze statue of Cupid & Swan, by Charles Henry Niehaus (1855-1935), USA

Bronze statue of Cupid & Swan, by Charles Henry Niehaus (1855-1935), USA CHARLES HENRY NIEHAUS BRONZE CHERUB FOUNTAIN: A bronze sculpture by Charles Henry Niehaus (1855 - 1935, America) depicting Cupid holding a swan. This is the only one original sculpture, no copies have been made ever. Height: 8.75 inches = 22.2 cm; Diameter of the base: 6.25 inches = 16 cm; Weight: 5 lb. 4.8 oz. = 2404 g; Signed/inscribed in bronze at the base by the artist: C.H. Niehaus; 1. This piece was created by Niehaus as a bronze maquette (a sculptor's small preliminary model or sketch) or study for a public drinking fountain, submitted by Niehaus to the New York Municipal Art Society, who offered commissions for public drinking fountains. Niehaus had 5 entries and two were chosen, illustrated in “The Sculpture of Charles Henry Niehaus; Being Reproductions from His Erected Sculpture, Prize Designs, Statues and Models, with a Biographical Sketch” Niehaus, Regina Armstrong. Published by De Vinne Press, New York, 1902 pages 8, 9. Illustration is shown in photos. PROVENANCE: Purchased by our consignor from a relative of Niehaus. Auction results for other sculptures: 09/12/2007 – Bronze Caestus, 35.24 inches, price - $10,000 USD BIOGRAPHY: Charles Henry Niehaus (1855 - 1935, America) was an American sculptor of German ancestry who began sculpting in marble and wood. He attended the McMicken School of Design in Cincinnati and between 1881 and 1887 studied at the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany. He is best known for realistic presidential and political outdoor sculptures, many monumental in scale. Niehaus has had eight statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., a record for a sculptor. A few of the sculptural highlights along an illustrious career are his sculptures of James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Benjamin Harrison, Moses, (Main reading room of the Library of Congress). Hackley Park in Michigan has Niehaus's depictions of Abraham Lincoln, Charles Hackley, David Farragut and William McKinley; Robert Bloom (Cincinnati Art Museum). He designed the Astor Memorial Doors (south doors), at Trinity Church in New York City (1895).