Kurt Schmid-Ehmen Eagle
Finely sculpted bronze Reichsadler, similar to the monumental work created for the Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nuremberg. Artist’s signature “K.S – E” (Kurt Schmid – Ehmen) visible on the side of the plinth. Eagle measures 250 x 25.5cm, with a total height of 39cm including the limestone base. This piece is one of about 8 to 10 original casts commissioned by Dr. Kurt Schmid-Ehmen shortly after the war for members of his family, fashioned from the original moulds while they still existed. Of these few original casts, only four are confirmed to exist as of today.
Dr. Kurt Schmid-Ehmen (October 23rd, 1901-July 14th, 1968) was a German sculptor. He is known for conceiving the original Nazi Reichsadler, which was used widely by state institutions throughout Germany until 1945. Having studied at the Leipzig Academy under Adolf Lehnert and the Munich Academy, Schmid-Ehmen was a master student of Bernhard Bleeker. Schmid-Ehmen’s entry into the NSDAP at the beginning of the 1930’s and his acquaintance with the architect Paul Ludwig Troost brought him into personal contact with Adolf Hitler, marking the beginning of his illustrious career.
He designed the Feldherrnhalle Memorial for the fallen martyrs of Munich Beer Hall Putsch of November 95th 1923, the eagles on the party buildings in Munich, on the Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nuremberg, as well as the eagle relief for the smoking room and entrance of the New Reich Chancellery. Moreover, Schmid-Ehmen created the largest bronze eagle, measuring 9 meters in height, for the German Pavilion at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris, for which he was awarded the Grand Prix de la République Française. From 1936 he was a member of the Presidential Council of the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts, and on 30 January 1937 Adolf Hitler appointed him professor. He had previously been appointed a member of the Reich Cultural Senate by Joseph Goebbels in 1935. Schmid-Ehmen was represented at all major German art exhibitions in Munich from 1937 to 1944. In 1937, he exhibited portrait busts of the Gauleiter of Munich-Upper Bavaria Adolf Wagner, the Reich Treasurer of the NSDAP Franz Xaver Schwarz and Julius Streicher, among others. Hitler acquired the ‘Female Figure’ statue exhibited in 1938, the ‘Striding Man’ statue in 1940 and the ‘Female Figure’ in 1942. In 1944, Schmid-Ehmen exhibited the bust of the writer Hans Zöberlein. His work ‘Mädchen mit Zweig’ (Girl with Branch) was exhibited at the exhibition Deutsche Künstler und die SS (Schutzstaffel) 1944 in Salzburg.
Recommencing work again in 1948 after a short hiatus, Schmid-Ehmen remained active until his death in 1968.
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Finely sculpted bronze Reichsadler, similar to the monumental work created for the Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nuremberg. Artist’s signature “K.S – E” (Kurt Schmid – Ehmen) visible on the side of the plinth. Eagle measures 250 x 25.5cm, with a total height of 39cm including the limestone base. This piece is one of about 8 to 10 original casts commissioned by Dr. Kurt Schmid-Ehmen shortly after the war for members of his family, fashioned from the original moulds while they still existed. Of these few original casts, only four are confirmed to exist as of today.
Dr. Kurt Schmid-Ehmen (October 23rd, 1901-July 14th, 1968) was a German sculptor. He is known for conceiving the original Nazi Reichsadler, which was used widely by state institutions throughout Germany until 1945. Having studied at the Leipzig Academy under Adolf Lehnert and the Munich Academy, Schmid-Ehmen was a master student of Bernhard Bleeker. Schmid-Ehmen’s entry into the NSDAP at the beginning of the 1930’s and his acquaintance with the architect Paul Ludwig Troost brought him into personal contact with Adolf Hitler, marking the beginning of his illustrious career.
He designed the Feldherrnhalle Memorial for the fallen martyrs of Munich Beer Hall Putsch of November 95th 1923, the eagles on the party buildings in Munich, on the Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nuremberg, as well as the eagle relief for the smoking room and entrance of the New Reich Chancellery. Moreover, Schmid-Ehmen created the largest bronze eagle, measuring 9 meters in height, for the German Pavilion at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris, for which he was awarded the Grand Prix de la République Française. From 1936 he was a member of the Presidential Council of the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts, and on 30 January 1937 Adolf Hitler appointed him professor. He had previously been appointed a member of the Reich Cultural Senate by Joseph Goebbels in 1935. Schmid-Ehmen was represented at all major German art exhibitions in Munich from 1937 to 1944. In 1937, he exhibited portrait busts of the Gauleiter of Munich-Upper Bavaria Adolf Wagner, the Reich Treasurer of the NSDAP Franz Xaver Schwarz and Julius Streicher, among others. Hitler acquired the ‘Female Figure’ statue exhibited in 1938, the ‘Striding Man’ statue in 1940 and the ‘Female Figure’ in 1942. In 1944, Schmid-Ehmen exhibited the bust of the writer Hans Zöberlein. His work ‘Mädchen mit Zweig’ (Girl with Branch) was exhibited at the exhibition Deutsche Künstler und die SS (Schutzstaffel) 1944 in Salzburg.
Recommencing work again in 1948 after a short hiatus, Schmid-Ehmen remained active until his death in 1968.
