Carl Conrads

The American Volunteer, at the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Installed at Antietam National Cemetery in 1880.

Carl H. Conrads (February 26, 1839 in Breisig, Germany – May 24, 1920 in Hartford, Connecticut)^[1] was an American sculptor best known for his work on Civil War monuments and his two works in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. He was also known as Charles Conrads.^[2]

Biography

He was born in Sinzig-on-the-Rhine, the son of Heinrich Joseph Conrads and Johanna Maria Catherina Fleischer. His father was mayor of their town until removed from office by the Prussians in 1850. In 1853 his parents and brother Robert emigrated to Texas, where they became farmers and furnituremakers.^[3] Carl remained in Munich and received a diploma from the Koeniglich Bayerische Akademie der Bildenden Kunste.^[2] He emigrated to New York in 1860,^[4] and served as an artilleryman in the 20th New York Volunteers during the American Civil War.^[5] He moved to Hartford, Connecticut in 1866 to work for James G. Batterson at the New England Granite Works, where he worked until 1903.^[2]

A reference from 1879:

Another German artist, Carl Conrads, has been for twelve years connected with the Hartford Granite Company [sic]. He is perhaps over-modest regarding his work as a sculptor, which is surely very good of its kind. Among his best designs are the figures on the Antietam Monument. In 1871 he returned to Munich for a short visit, availing himself of the opportunity for still further study. As a designer of monuments, his work stands high.^[6]

Sculptor and sculpture historian Lorado Taft said of him: "a German of good training, has identified himself with sculpture in granite, and has done much creditable work well adapted to the requirements of that ungrateful material." ^[7]

Noteworthy among his granite works are his colossal American Volunteer statue at Antietam National Cemetery in Sharpsburg, Maryland; his seated figure of Morality on the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts – "said to be the largest solid granite monument in the world;"^[8] and his Alexander Hamilton statue in Central Park, New York City.^[9]

Selected works

Bust of Laurent Clerc at American School for the Deaf

• Oswin Welles Memorial, bronze figure, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, Connecticut, 1873.^[10][11]
• Bust of Laurent Clerc, American School for the Deaf, West Hartford, Connecticut, 1874.^[12]
• Moorhead Column, Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1877.^[13]
• Alexander Hamilton, Central Park, New York City, 1880.^[14] Conrads's plaster model for this is at the Museum of American Finance in New York City.^[15]
• Joel Thayer Monument, granite, Lake View Cemetery, Skaneateles, New York, 1882–83, George Keller, architect.^[16]
• Colonel Sylvanus Thayer Monument ("Father of the Military Academy"), U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, 1883.
• Relief bust of Noah Webster, Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford, Connecticut, 1885.
• Relief bust of Reverend Horace Bushnell, Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford, Connecticut, circa 1885.
• General Henry W. Halleck, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, 1886.^[17]
• National Monument to the Forefathers, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1889. With sculptors William Rimmer, John D. Perry (attributed), Alexander Doyle and James H. Mahoney; and architects Hammatt Billings and Joseph Edward Billings.
  • Morality (seated figure), granite.^[18]
  • Embarkation at Delft Haven (bas-relief plaque), marble.^[19]
• General John Stark, bronze, New Hampshire Statehouse, Concord, New Hampshire, 1890, John A. Fox, architect.^[20]
• John B. Ford, bronze, Third Street Park, Ford City, Pennsylvania, 1891.^[21][22]
• John Stark from New Hampshire, marble, National Statuary Hall Collection, United States Capitol, Washington D.C., 1894. Currently residing in the United States Capitol crypt.
• Daniel Webster from New Hampshire (after Thomas Ball), marble, National Statuary Hall Collection, United States Capitol, Washington D.C., 1894.^[23][24]
• Samuel J. Tilden Monument, Cemetery of the Evergreens, New Lebanon, New York, 1895, Ernest Flagg, architect.^[25][26]
• The Archangel Gabriel, marble, George H. Thacher Monument, St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands, New York, 1896.^[26][27]
• Minute Man, granite, Union Square, Elizabeth, New Jersey, 1905.^[28]
• Relief bust of Henry Keney, Keney Park Entrance Gates, Hartford, Connecticut, circa 1905.^[29]

• 

  Faith, Hope and Charity on Moorhead Column, Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1877).

• 

  Alexander Hamilton, Central Park, New York City (1880).

• 

  Colonel Thayer Monument, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York (1883).

• 

  Circa 1888 view of unfinished National Monument to the Forefathers, showing Conrads's Morality seated figure and his Embarkation plaque below it.

• 

  Morality (right), National Monument to the Forefathers, Plymouth, Massachusetts (1888).

• 

  General John Stark, New Hampshire State Capitol, Concord (1890).

• 

  John Stark, United States Capitol, Washington, D.C. (1894).

• 

  Daniel Webster, United States Capitol, Washington, D.C. (1894).

• 

  Samuel J. Tilden Monument, Cemetery of the Evergreens, New Lebanon, New York, (1895).

• 

  Hunt family monument, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, CT.

• 

  Statue atop Oswin Welles family monument, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, CT, (1873).

• 

  Statue atop Marshall Jewell monument, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, CT.

• 

  Statue atop John B. Windsor monument, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, CT (circa 1887-1905).

Civil War monuments

Title	Image	Year	Location/GPS Coordinates	Material	Dimensions	Notes
Soldiers' Monument[30]		1868	Granby Green, 3 East Granby Road, Granby, Connecticut 41°57′13″N 72°47′21″W / 41.9536°N 72.7891°W	Brownstone	Statue: Monument: approx. 21 ft (6.4 m)	George Keller, architect Part of Granby Center Historic District.[31]
Forlorn Soldier Statue[32]		1866-1869	State Capitol building, Hartford, Connecticut	Brownstone from quarry in Portland, CT	Statue: Monument:	Contractor: Batterson’s Monumental Works Sculptor: Charles Conrads
Knight Hospital Monument[33]		1870	Evergreen Cemetery, 92 Winthrop Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 41°18′12″N 72°56′43″W / 41.3032°N 72.9453°W	Granite	Statue: Monument: approx. 26 ft (7.92 m)	Dedicated to the 204 Union soldiers who died while in the hospital's care.
Soldiers' Monument[34]		1872	Main & Bartlett Streets, Portland, Connecticut 41°35′27″N 72°37′28″W / 41.5908°N 72.6244°W	Brownstone	Statue: Monument: 33 ft (10.06 m)
Soldiers' Monument [35]		1873	Meriden City Hall, East Main & Catlin Streets, Meriden, Connecticut 41°32′11″N 72°47′52″W / 41.5364°N 72.7977°W	Granite	Statue: 7 ft (2.13 m) Monument: approx. 45 ft (13.72 m)
The Soldiers' Monument[36]		1875	Chelsea Parade Green, Washington & Williams Streets, Norwich, Connecticut 41°32′13″N 72°05′01″W / 41.5369°N 72.0836°W	Granite	Statue: 12 ft (3.66 m) Monument: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)	Octagonal pedestal.
The American Volunteer (statue), U.S. Soldier Monument[37][38]		1876 Dedicated 1880	Antietam National Cemetery, Sharpsburg, Maryland 39°27′33″N 77°44′28″W / 39.4592°N 77.7411°W	Granite	Statue: 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m) Monument: 44 ft 7 in (13.59 m)	Conrads, sculptor; James W. Pollette, carver; George Keller, architect. The American Volunteer was exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition.
Soldiers Monument[39]		1876	Courthouse Park, Cortland County Courthouse, Cortland, New York 42°35′58″N 76°10′39″W / 42.5994°N 76.1776°W	Bronze statue Granite pedestal		"Centennial Offering of Cortland County in Memory of Those Who Fought in Defence of the Union 1861. 1865. - A. D. 1876." Signed: C. Conrads.
Soldiers' Monument[40]		1876 Dedicated 1877	Center Park, Main & Center Streets, Manchester, Connecticut 41°46′31″N 72°31′20″W / 41.7753°N 72.5221°W	Bronze statue Granite pedestal	Statue: Monument: approx. 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m)	Signed C. Conrads 1876 Geo.Fischer & Bro. Bronze Foundry. N.Y. At base of granite monument: "In memory of the soldiers of Manchester who died in the War of the Rebellion 1861 - 1865"
Wolcottville Soldier's Monument[41]		1879	Coe Memorial Park, South Main & Litchfield Streets, Torrington, Connecticut 41°47′59″N 73°07′18″W / 41.7997°N 73.1216°W	Tan granite	Statue: Monument: 16 ft (4.88 m)	The statue is one-third-size copy of The American Volunteer. Cylindrical pedestal (unusual). : Made by the New England Granite Works
Soldiers' Monument[42]		1880	Town Green, Main & Academy Streets, Southington, Connecticut 41°36′04″N 72°52′42″W / 41.6011°N 72.8783°W	"White" granite Blue granite columns	Statue: Monument: 20 ft (6.1 m)
Soldiers' Monument[43]		1883	East Main Street & Broadway Avenue Mystic in Stonington, Connecticut 41°21′10″N 71°57′51″W / 41.3529°N 71.9641°W	Tan granite	Statue: Monument: approx. 19 ft (5.8 m)	Part of Mystic Bridge Historic District.[44]
Soldiers and Sailors Monument[45][46]		1883	Geneva & Haverling Streets, Bath, New York 42°20′24″N 77°19′03″W / 42.3400°N 77.3174°W	Bronze statue		Originally a fountain statue at New York State Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, Bath. "Manchester" model.
Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument[47]		1902	Taunton Green, Taunton, Massachusetts 41°54′07″N 71°05′36″W / 41.9020°N 71.0932°W	Granite	Statue: 8 ft (2.44 m) Monument: 22 ft (6.71 m)
Soldiers' Monument (attributed work)[48]		1912	93 Grove Street, Putnam, Connecticut 41°54′44″N 71°54′10″W / 41.9123°N 71.9029°W	Bronze statue Granite pedestal	Statue: Monument: approx. 19 ft (5.79 m)
Civil War Monument (attributed work)[49]		1915-16	Monument & Smith Streets opposite Fort Griswold State Park, Groton, Connecticut 41°21′18″N 72°04′43″W / 41.3549°N 72.0787°W	Granite	Statue: Monument: approx. 22 ft (6.71 m)	Donated by Robert A. Gray.

References

• Obituary: Hartford Daily Courant, May 25, 1920.

1. Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934.
2. Ransom, David F. (1996). "Connecticut's Monuments: An Essay". Connecticut Historical Society.
3. Lonn Taylor & David B. Warren, Texas Furniture: The Cabinetmakers and Their Work, 1840-1880, Volume 2 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2012), p. 265.
4. Opitz, Glenn B., Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers, Apollo Books, Poughkeepsie, NY, 1988
5. "The Sculptor Carl Conrad" (sic), The New York Times, January 21, 1890.
6. Harry Willard French, Art and Artists in Connecticut (Boston: Lee and Shepard, Publishers, 1879), pp. 162-63.
7. Taft, Lorado, The History of American Sculpture, The Macmillan Company, New York,1925 p. 502
8. http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/rmp/downloads/rmpforefathers.pdf
9. Lederer, Joseph, photographs by Arley Bondarin, ‘’All Around Town: A Walking Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in New York City’’, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1975 p. 148
10. Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation
11. Oswin Welles Memorial gets a facelift, November 2007. from Connecticut Department of Culture and Tourism.
12. Laurent Clerc from Waymarking.com
13. Moorhead Column from Allegheny Cemetery.
14. Alexander Hamilton from Central Park Conservancy.
15. Plaster Hamilton statue.
16. Thayer Monument
17. General Halleck from Art and Architecture - San Francisco.
18. Morality from Flickr.
19. Embarkation from Flickr.
20. General John Stark from New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources.
21. John B. Ford from SIRIS.
22. "C. Conrads" is listed as the sculptor in The National Cyclopedia of American Biography (1906), vol. XIII, p. 505.
23. "Carl Conrad's [sic] clay model of his Daniel Webster has been sent to Carrara, Italy, to be reproduced in marble for the Capitol at Washington." --"Current News of the Fine Arts," The New York Times, September 30, 1894.
24. Murdock, Myrtle Cheney, National Statuary Hall in the Nation’s Capitol, Monumental Press, Washington D.C., 1955 p. 54-55
25. Samuel J. Tilden Monument from SIRIS.
26. "The Archangel Gabriel," The New York Times, February 16, 1896.
27. Thacher Angel photo from Troy Record.
28. Minute Man from Flickr.
29. Keney Park Entrance Gates from SIRIS.
30. Granby Soldiers' Monument from Connecticut Historical Society.
31. NRHP Nomination, Granby Center Historic District
32. The Old Brownstone Soldier from ConnecticutHistory.org, a CThumanities program.
33. Knight Hospital Monument from Connecticut Historical Society.
34. Portland Soldiers' Monument from Connecticut Historical Society.
35. Meridan Soldiers' Monument from Babcock-Smith House Museum.
36. Norwich Soldiers' Monument from Connecticut Historical Society.
37. U.S. Soldier Monument from National Park Service.
38. Soderberg, Susan Cooke, ‘’Lest We Forget: A Guide to Civil War Monuments in Maryland’’, White Mane Publishing Co., Inc., Shippensburg PA, 1995 pp. 93-94
39. Cortland Soldiers Monument from Civil War Monuments in New York State.
40. Manchester Soldiers' Monument from Connecticut Historical Society.
41. Wolcottville Soldiers' Monument from Connecticut Historical Society.
42. Southington Soldiers' Monument from Connecticut Historical Society.
43. Mystic in Stonington Soldiers' Monument from Connecticut Historical Society.
44. Mystic Bridge Historic District
45. Bath Soldiers and Sailors Monument from Civil War Monuments in New York State.
46. Bath Soldiers and Sailors Monument from SIRIS.
47. Tauton Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument from Babcock-Smith Museum.
48. Putnam Soldiers' Monument from Connecticut Historical Society.
49. Groton Civil War Monument from Babcock-Smith House Museum.

External links

• Carl H. Conrads from SIRIS.