Albin Polasek (1879 - May 19, 1965) was a Czech-American sculptor and educator. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. He created more than four hundred works during his career, two hundred of which are now displayed in the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park, Florida. The Albin Polasek House and Studio (also known as the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden) is a historic site in Winter Park, Florida, United Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States.
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Career
Born in Frenštát, Moravia (now Czech Republic), Polasek apprenticed as a wood carver in Vienna. Frenštát pod Radhoštěm (ˈfrɛnʃtat ˈpodradɦoʃcɛm Frankstadt am Radhost is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Moravia (Morava; Morawy Moravie Moravia is a historical region in central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, one of the former Czech lands. The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. At the age of 22 he emigrated to the United States and began formal art training at age 25 under Charles Grafly at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Charles Grafly ( December 3, 1862 - May 5, 1929) American sculptor and educator was born at Philadelphia Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts was founded in 1805 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by painter and scientist Charles Willson Peale, sculptor Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə As a student, he first produced Man Carving His Own Destiny (1907) and Eternal Moment (1909). In 1909, Polasek became an American citizen and in 1910, won the Prix de Rome competition. This article concerns the French government prize For similarly named prizes aimed at other countries' nationals see Prix de Rome (disambiguation. At age 37, after periods of residence in Rome and New York City, he was invited to head the sculpture department at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he remained for nearly thirty years. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The City of New York The Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's premier Fine art museums Polasek was elected an Associate Member of the National Academy of Design in 1927, and full member in 1933. The National Academy of Design, in New York City, now called simply The National Academy is an honorary association of American Artists with a Museum
In 1950, Polasek retired at age 71 to Winter Park, Florida. Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. Within months he suffered a stroke that left his left side paralyzed; he subsequently completed eighteen major works with his right hand only. Towards the end of 1950, he married former student Ruth Sherwood who died 18 months later. In 1961, Polasek married Emily Muska Kubat. Upon his death in 1965, Polasek was buried beside his first wife in Winter Park's Palms Cemetery, where his 12th Station of the Cross (1939) is his monument. Emily M. K. Polasek died in 1988.
Selected Works
Polasek's better-known works include the Theodore Thomas Memorial (1924), the Masaryk Memorial (1941) in Chicago,the Wilson Memorial (1926), Radigast (1929) and Sts. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Cyril and Methodius (1929) in the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, His Mother Crying Over the World (1942) was a response to World War II, and his Victory of Moral Law (1956) to the Hungarian Revolution. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 ( Hungarian: 1956-os forradalom) was a spontaneous nationwide Revolt against the Stalinist government of
Cemetery monuments
Like many other sculptors of his era, Polasek created several cemetery memorials. Notable among those are The Pilgrim and The Mother (1927), both located in the Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago, and the Pilgrim at the Eternal Gates in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Lake View Cemetery is located on the East side of the City of Cleveland Ohio, along the East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights borders Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Pictures of all three are featured in both biographies listed in the sources section.
Images
 Sts. Cyril and Methodius |
 The Sower, 1911 |
 Radegast |
 Tomáš Masaryk Memorial, Chicago, USA |
 detail, Yates Memorial |
References
- 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
External links
- [1]Polasek Museum
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