American Bison
Signed Carl Milles. Foundry mark H. Bergman Fud. The motif conceived 1901. Bronze, brown patina. Height 36.5 cm. Length 38 cm.
Palazzo Reale, Arengario, Salone Colonne, Milano, 1994, compare cast cat no 5.
Solothurn, Carl Milles, Schweiz, 1993, compare cast cat no 7.
Erik Näslund, "Carl Milles - en biografi", 1991, the motif listed at p. 332 under the year 1901.
From the Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, Carl Milles received a travel scholarship in 1901, which allowed him to stay in Paris and spend time studying animals under the guidance of sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet. These studies were mainly conducted at the zoological department at Jardin des Plantes and Milles’ mentions in letter to the Academy an artwork depicting an "American bison".
Carl Milles was a Swedish sculptor born in Lägga. He studied at the Technical School in Stockholm, at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Auguste Rodin and on study trips to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Paris he came to stay for many years and made a living as an ornament carver. He studied the animals in the Jardin des Plantes (the Zoological Garden) and was strongly influenced by Auguste Rodin. Milles made a breakthrough with a monument to Sten Sture in Uppsala. He exhibited at the World's Fair in 1900 and was later given a solo exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London. Milles was professor of modeling at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm. Well-known sculptures in public places signed by Carl Milles are the "Gustav Vasa" statue at the Nordic Museum, "Orfeusgruppen" outside the concert hall in Stockholm and the "Poseidonfontänen" in Gothenburg.
Read more