c. 1920
Austrian sculptor Carl Kauba was fascinated by the American West, creating dynamic cast bronze sculptures of cowboys, Native Americans and buffalo. Between 1895 and 1912, his polychrome pieces captured the attention of an American audience, while his domestic statutory work in Austria helped solidify his artistic reputation.
He was born the son of a shoemaker in 1865 in Vienna, Austria. He later studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna before learning from sculptor Karl Waschmann and sculptor and medallist Stefan Schwartz.
Although some accounts have Kauba traveling to the United States to create models and sketches, scholars have questioned the inaccuracies in his work’s weapon detailing and equestrian costumes. Kauba loved the Western tales of German author Karl May and was known to have a friend in Ohio who mailed him costume material, all of which may have provided his references for art.
Kauba’s bronze work is recognized as exceptional Viennese craftsmanship imbued with artistic intricacies and realism. His sculptures of cavalrymen, cowboys and Indigenous people from the American West put him in the same category as titans of American Western art like Frederic Remington and Charles Marion Russell.
Original Carl Kauba art experienced a resurgence in popularity during a 1950s advertising campaign for Latendorfer in New York. His works have remained prized by Wild West collectors everywhere.
Kauba’s art has been exhibited at many American art galleries, including the Thomas Nygard Gallery in Montana and the Ophir Gallery in New Jersey.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Carl Kauba decorative objects, collectibles and more.
Preparing to Ride
Located in Missouri, MO
Preparing to Ride By. George B. Marks (American, 1923-1983) Signed and Dated Throughout his artistic career, George Marks’s work was always guided by the...
Bronze
The Holdup of the Overland Stagecoach
By Gordon Phillips
Located in Missouri, MO
The Holdup of the Overland Stagecoach By. Gordon Phillips (American, 1927-2011) Initialed and Edition 493/750 Gordon Phillips was born in 1927 in Boone, North Carolina. He studied a...
Metal
In Close Pursuit
Located in Missouri, MO
Site Size: 20 x 15 inches Framed Size: 28.5 x 24 inches Donald Spaulding's artistic talents were recognized early. Encouraged by his high school teachers to pursue formal art traini...
Oil, Illustration Board
The Hunter and Hound
By Pierre Jules Mêne
Located in Missouri, MO
Pierre-Jules Mene "The Hunter and Hound" (Le Valet de Limier) 1879 Bronze approx. 19 x 8 x 14 inches Signed PIERRE JULES MENE (1810-1879) Pierre...
Bronze
Portrait of Victory
By Paul Pletka
Located in Missouri, MO
"Portrait of Victory" By Paul Pletka (1946- ) Image Size: 30" x 23" Framed: 42" x 36" Signed: Lower Right Paul Pletka is a neo-surrealistic painter inspired by his fascination from early childhood with Native Americans of the Southwest. His style, described as neo-surrealistic, "is both realistic and deeply spiritual, being highly sensitive to the inner thoughts of Native Americans." Paul Pletka was born in southern California in 1946 and currently resides in New Mexico. After high school, he won a scholarship to Arizona State University and then transferred to Colorado State University, but feeling disappointed in his college art training, did not paint seriously until the late 1960s. His works of art have been exhibited in one-man shows in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Illinois, New York, Kansas and Missouri continuously since 1964. Pletka's paintings are in more than 40 private and public art collections including the Albany Museum of Art, Albany, GA; Hallmark Cards, Kansas City, MO; Mel Pfaelzer Collection, University of Northern Illinois, De Kalb; the Norton Gallery & School of Art, West Palm Beach...
Paper, Mixed Media
Lion and Antelope (No. 23)
Located in Missouri, MO
Alfred Barye (1839-1882) "Lion and Antelope" Bronze Approx. 7.5H x 9W x 4D inches Signed "BARYE.ALF" and Inscribed under base "NO. 23 LION AND ANTELOPE" The son of a goldsmith, Parisian born Antoine-Louis Bayre was a sculptor of animal subjects and acclaimed, not only for his apparent skill, but as the founder of what became known as the French Animaliers School. Among his patrons were representatives of the state government and royalty including the Duke of Orleans and the Dukes of Luynes, Montpensier and Nemours. Well compensated financially, he was able to buy the best of materials and hire the country's most skilled foundry craftsmen. The foundry he hired was owned by Ferdinand Barbedienne, and casts from this period were stamped with the letters, FB. However, he did not make a lot of money from his work because he was such a perfectionist that often he would not sell his work because he thought it was not 'quite right'. In 1848, he declared bankruptcy, and his molds and plaster casts were sold along with the copyrights. Bayre's specialty was aroused, angry seeming wild game such as lions and tigers and elephants, but he also did equestrian groups and mythology figures. In order to do realistic depictions of animal anatomy, he spent much time at the Jardin de Plantes in Paris. His early training was as an apprentice to a metal engraver, but being drafted in the army in 1812, ended that education. In 1832, he had established his own studio, and unique at that time was his method of cold stamping his bronze casts, so that each one had a special number. He had his first entry, The Milo of Croton...
Bronze
The Scout
By Carl Kauba
Located in New York, NY
CARL KAUBA Austrian, (1865-1922) The Scout Patinated bronze; Signed ‘C. Kauba’ 30 1/4 x 13 1/2 inches
Bronze
The General
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original Bronze sculpture inscribed by the Artist with a signature and edition number. 2/35
Bronze
Mr. Remington's Cowboy
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original Bronze inscribed with the Artist's signature and an edition number. AP (Artist's Proof)
Bronze
Man on a Mission
By Curt Mattson
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original Bronze Sculpture inscribed with the Artist's signature and an edition number. 12/20
Bronze
Untitled
By Bill Nebeker
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Untitled" is a bronze sculpture by Bill Nebeker. Signed on reverse base "Bill Nebeker CA 6/30". The full size is 23 1/2 x 18 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches. Bill Nebeker is an American artist ...
Bronze
Ridin' to the Gate
By Bill Nebeker
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Inscribed/signed by the Artist on the bottom portion of the bronze piece with an edition number. 7/30
Bronze
