1. Karl Theodore Francis Bitter was an Austrian-born American sculptor best known for his architectural sculpture, memorials and residential work.
11 Facts About Karl Bitter
1. 2.
Karl Bitter was drafted into the Austrian Army, and deserted while on leave.
3.
Karl Bitter was unable to return to Austria for many years because of his desertion.
4.
Karl Bitter later was pardoned by Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, who hoped to lure the famous sculptor back to Vienna.
5.
Karl Bitter immigrated to the United States in 1889, arriving in New York City.
6.
Karl Bitter modeled seated statues of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton to flank the entrance to the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
7.
Karl Bitter portrayed the men in early middle age, as in the 1780s when they clashed over what kind of nation the United States should become.
8.
Missouri commissioned a copy of Jefferson, and Karl Bitter made minor alterations to portray Jefferson as he looked as president when he signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty in 1803.
9.
About this time, Karl Bitter was discovered by Richard Morris Hunt, the architect of choice of many of New York's rich and famous.
10.
Karl Bitter was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Sciences, vice-president ; the National Academy of Design, to which he was elected in 1902; the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Players' Club, Century Club, and vice-president of the Architectural League from 1904 to 1906 and from 1909 to 1911, and member of the Art Commission, New York, from 1912 to 1915.
11.
Karl Bitter's wife survived the crash as he had pushed her out of the way of the oncoming driver.