Herman Wurth [1880-1954]
Swiss / American
The mermaid and fawn, ca.1920
Bronze
19 x 28 x 13 inches
Signed and marked : ‘Roman Bronze Works New York’.

Born May 23, 1880 in Basel, Switzerland. From 1913-on he lived in Zürich, moved to Davos in 1918, then back to Zürich and lived in Arosa from 1924 onward.

Studied art first in Paris and then in New York perhaps Newark under Gutzon Borglum.

Mainly a sculptor in wood, he created statues, fountains and bas-reliefs.

He died in 1954 in Arosa, Switzerland. (Source: Hans Vollmer Künstlerlexikon. Birthdate corrected by the artist’s family)

His son Hans told the story that Hermann was working in his uncle’s factory near Basel, making casks. Once in a while he would carve “coat of arms” ornament and names into oak barrels for wine producers nearby. That’s how he first developed his skills in sculpting.

He ran away from home – from his father the miller and his mother who was an artist as skilled as Albrecht Dürer. One of her works, a splendid drawing, Hermann used to carry with him everywhere he went.

After a period of studying art in Paris, Hermann went north to Hamburg, Germany and smuggled himself onto a boat with destination New York. He got caught and had to peel potatoes all the way to the land of Liberty.

In America he got acquainted with Satchmo, Louis Armstrong, and other famous people and soon also with Gutzon Borglum the head-sculptor of the four Presidents of Mount Rushmore. Hermann learned from the sculptor before Borglum got occupied with the monument at Mount Rushmore.

Information provided by Nils-Eric Würth, grandson of the artist.