Carl Paul Jennewein

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Carl Paul Jennewein was the son of a medalist and engraver. He apprenticed with artisans at the Stuttgart Art Museum at the age of thirteen. There, he received a multi-faceted arts education and learned to paint, model, and cast. In 1907, he immigrated to New York City where he was an apprentice at Buhler and Lauter, a firm specializing in architectural sculpture and commercial modeling. He also took evening classes at the Art Students League. By 1911 he was receiving outside commissions for ornamental sculpture and painting projects, earning enough to allow him to travel throughout Europe for several years.  After becoming an American citizen in 1915 and serving in the National Guard, he was honorably discharged in 1916 and journeyed to Rome to accept the prestigious Prix de Rome for sculpture. These years of travel were critical to the development of his style and set the path for his later career.  Upon his return to New York City, he quickly gained prominence as an architectural sculptor working in a style that combined art deco and neo-classical forms.

In the first half of the twentieth century, artists often struggled with architects for more control over their projects and greater prominence for their work. Jennewein made clear that collaboration was his goal, writing: “Early in my career, I chose, as my major interest, collaboration with architects. Sculpture generally is enhanced by its architectural setting. Both the sculptor and the architect find a mutual respect for freedom of expression, form, composition, and choice of materials.”  His many commissions demonstrate the success of his approach. Jennewein completed numerous major projects, among them a 1932 commission to sculpt figures for the west wing pediment of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  In 1933, he created bronze figures installed over the main entrance to the British Empire Building at Rockefeller Center. Other major commissions include four pylons depicting the four elements at the 1939 World’s Fair, the façade of the Brooklyn Public Library, a war memorial in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the Dudley Memorial Gateway at Harvard University.

Among his largest commissions was the comprehensive sculptural program he designed for the U.S. Department of Justice building, which included a total of fifty-seven sculptures. Previously, he had worked with the building’s architects, Claren C. Zantzinger and Charles L. Borie, on the Philadelphia Museum of Art. After signing a contract in 1932, he coordinated all aspects of the sculptural program at the building in Washington, D.C.