15 Facts About Karl Gerhardt

Karl Gerhardt was an American sculptor, best known for his death mask of President Ulysses S Grant and a portrait bust of Mark Twain.

Karl Gerhardt was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 7,1853.

Karl Gerhardt showed considerable talent in mechanics, and later became a designer of machinery at Hartford, Connecticut.

Karl Gerhardt worked for a spell as chief machinist at the Pratt and Whitney Machine Tool Company in Hartford and pursued sculpting in his leisure hours.

Karl Gerhardt's first known sculpture was a bust of his wife, Josie, titled, A Startled Bather.

On February 21,1881, Harriet Gerhardt knocked on Samuel Clemens's door and asked Clemens to come to their home to view a sculpture that Gerhardt had completed.

Karl Gerhardt passed the entrance examination to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts on his first attempt and was enrolled in classes by August 1881.

Karl Gerhardt soon requested additional money from Clemens to pay for living models and private art instruction.

Clemens helped Karl Gerhardt in getting commissions, and was probably instrumental in Karl Gerhardt being given the commission for a Nathan Hale statue for the Connecticut Capitol in Hartford in 1885.

Clemens agreed to forgive all debts that Karl Gerhardt owed to Clemens and his wife, an amount of $17,000, in return for returning the mask to Grant's family.

Karl Gerhardt's wife gave birth to a son, Lawrence, in 1890.

Karl Gerhardt closed his mansion in Hartford in 1891 and moved with his family to Europe.

Karl Gerhardt's commissions had decreased dramatically by 1891 and he eventually sought work as a draftsman and machinist.

In 1897, Karl Gerhardt was working for bicycle manufacturer, Pope Manufacturing Company in Hartford.

Karl Gerhardt's wife died in 1897 succumbing to tetanus after being injured by a rusty nail.