Leo Friedlander


Leo Friedlander was an American sculptor, who created several prominent works.

Early life and education

At 12 years old, Friedlander studied at the Art Students League in New York City. In 1908, he traveled to Europe, where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Brussels and Paris, returning to work in New York City in 1911. In 1913, he was awarded a three year fellowship to the American Academy in Rome, where he honed his skills and explored classical works, while also teaching, until returning to New York City.

Career

Following the end of WWI, Friedlander spent time working as an assistant to each of Hermon Atkins MacNeil and Paul Manship, while stating to attract independent commissions for his own work. When Cass Gilbert designed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Building, completed in 1925 in Washington, D.C., he commissioned Friedlander to produce twenty-six relief panels to be included in the project. In 1930, he received a commission to design models for Sacrifice and Valor, two statues known collectively as The Arts of War, to flank the planned Washington, D.C. Arlington Memorial Bridge. The bridge was completed in 1932, while debate over the planned statues continued; the models were finalized in 1933, but the impact of the Great Depression, followed by WWII, meant that the statues were not cast until 1950, and erected in 1951.
By 1935, his growing number of commissions, coupled with the shear physical size of the public works he was creating, led Friedlander to move his studio from New York City to a larger space in nearby White Plains, New York.
In addition to large public works, Friedlander also created smaller pieces for private sale, such as his tall Female Warrior, designed, while still on his fellowship to the American Academy in Rome.
He took on commissions into his 70s, such as the Christ statue, at the entrance to Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., completed in 1960.

Academia and appointments

In 1936, Frielander was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1949. During WWII, he headed the sculpture department at New York University, within the then named New York University School of Architecture. In 1954, he was chosen for a three year term as president of the National Sculpture Society.

Personal life

Friedlander was married to Rhoda Freda Lichter, for whom he sculpted a portrait in monumental marble portrait, Rhoda Freda Friedlander; the couple and had two children. He died in 1966, at age 78, in White Plains.

Public works