Vista Online

Fall/Winter 2001

Set In Stone

Richard W. Brock

During October 2000, the Richard W. Bock Sculpture Museum celebrated its 25th anniversary. For the occasion, Dr. Donald Hallmark, a former art professor at Greenville College, presented a slide lecture focusing on Bock’s friendship and business relationship with American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Dr. Hallmark researched Richard W. Bock for both his masters and doctoral studies and is responsible for bringing the Bock collection to Greenville. Bock’s family members wanted to have all of his works housed in one place, and with the connection and research of Dr. Hallmark, Greenville College was offered the collection. Dr. Hallmark is currently the curator of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, Illinois.

Who is Richard W. Bock? Bock was actually born in Germany in 1865, but moved to the United States with his family when he was four and eventually became a naturalized citizen. He spent most of his life in the Chicago area, living in the suburb of River Forrest.

His father was a cabinet-maker and even helped rebuild parts of Chicago after the Great Fire. Richard Bock apprenticed with his father, but found his true love in sculpting. In order to further his education, he studied two years at L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris as well as a school in Berlin, returning to Chicago in 1893 where he opened his first studio. Almost immediately, Bock received great acclaim and major commissions. One of the individuals who noticed the talent of Richard W. Bock was architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Bock spent much time sculpting with the intention of taking his work on the road as a traveling show; however, this dream was never realized. During the early 20th century, art commonly took on the face of abstraction. Artists were creating asymmetrical works that were becoming quite popular. Bock, however, was opposed to this notion of abstract art.

He believed that art was to be beautiful and that in order to be beautiful, it must be symmetrical. His art, although quite stunning, was not necessarily marketable for these types of shows at the time. At one point Bock even decided that he was going to destroy everything, wanting to avoid finding his works under-appreciated and merely collecting dust. Fortunately, this was a fleeting idea, and Bock continued to create masterpieces.

One of his most famous pieces stems from a national competition. A memorial stands in Shiloh, Tennessee, commemorating each state that lost soldiers during the Civil War. A competition decided who would be appointed to represent each of the states. Bock was selected to create the piece for Illinois, and was the only artist who used one specific figure to depict a state, choosing the Mother of Illinois for his representation.

Richard W. Bock died in 1949. Aside from the commissioned sculptures, such as the one in Shiloh, the largest collection of Bock’s work is displayed in Greenville, Illinois at the historic Almira College House.

Sarah Thompson

Last updated: July 9, 2001