Albin Polasek
Albin Polasek (February 14, 1879 – May 19, 1965) was a Czech-American sculptor and educator. He created more than 400 works during his career, 200 of which are displayed in the
Career
Born as Albín Polášek in
At age 37, after periods of residence in
Albin Polasek was a close friend of fellow artist Louis Grell while he lived at Tree Studios in Chicago. The Grell Family archive collection contains letters by Grell discussing Polasek's move to Florida and becoming ill shortly after.
In 1950, Polasek retired at age 70 to Winter Park, Florida. Within months, he suffered a stroke that left his left side paralyzed; he subsequently completed 18 major works with his right hand only, including Victory of Moral Law, the artist's comment on the
Selected works
Polasek's better-known works include the Theodore Thomas Memorial (1924), the 1941 memorial to
Cemetery monuments
Like many other sculptors of his era, Polasek created several cemetery memorials. Notable among these are The Pilgrim and The Mother (1927), both located in the
Images
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Sts. Cyril and Methodius
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Man carving his own destiny
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The Sower, 1911
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Tomáš Masaryk Memorial, Chicago
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YatesMemorial, Springfield, Illinois, 1923
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detail, Yates Memorial
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Pierre Gibault, Vincennes, Indiana, 1934
See also
- Forest Idyll
Literature
- JAEGEROVÁ, Anna. Albín Polášek: Boundaries of Continents and Ages. Brno, 2018. Available online. Bachelor's thesis. Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts. Thesis supervisor Pavel Suchánek.
References
- ^ Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Memorial. Chicago Public Art. http://chicagopublicart.blogspot.com/2013/09/tomas-garrigue-masaryk-memorial.html
- Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, Cemetery Sculpture in America, unpublished manuscript
- Polasek, Albin Polasek: Man Carving His Own Destiny, Albin Polasek Foundation 1970
- Sherwood, Ruth, Carving His Own Destiny: The Story of Albin Polasek, Ralph Fletcher Seymour, Publisher, Chicago 1954