1877 - 1954
Laessle was the son of German immigrants, his grandfather having been a stonecutter and his father a wheelright and woodcarver. He received his education in his native Philadelphia, studying at the Spring Garden Institute (now Spring Garden College), the Drexel Institute (now Drexel University), and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. At Drexel, he studied with Charles Grafly and, at the Pennsylvania Academy, with Thomas Anshutz. He was graduated from the latter in 1904. He served as a studio assistant to Grafly who was instrumental in having Laessle's early Portrait of an East Indian (now lost, probably destroyed) included in the Pennsylvania Academy's annual exhibition of 1901. This was Laessle's first publically exhibited work.
The Pennsylvania Academy's Cresson Traveling Scholarship allowed Laessle to study in Paris, possibly under Michel B‚guine, from 1904 to 1907. He then returned to Philadelphia where he continued his studies with Grafly. Laessle and his wife bought a house and studio in the Philadelphia suburb of Germantown and it was there that the sculptor worked for many years. In 1910, an exhibition of eight of his bronzes was held at the MacBeth Gallery in New York. He served in the armed forces during World War I after which, in 1916, he began teaching sculpture, first at the Graphic Sketch Club then, in 1920, at the Pennsylvania Academy's city and country schools, one of which was in Chester Springs. He also taught anatomy at the Philadelphia School. After 1939, Laessle retired from teaching to devote his time to creating sculpture.
Laessle is best known for his small sculptures of animals, a specialization he chose in about 1907 with the encouragement of Grafly. An early controversy (1901) saw Laessle, like Barye and Rodin before him, accused of casting a sculpture (Turtle and Crab, unlocated) from life rather than modeling it. The scandal brought Laessle some notoriety and, on his subsequent vindication, some fame.
Among his public commissions were a group of bronze penquins for the Philadelphia Zoo, Brookgreen Gardens and elsewhere, and a group of animals in Johnson Square, Camden, New Jersey. He designed the Pennsylvania Academy's George D. Widener Gold Medal; a fountain for the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens; and a number of sculptures for Victor Talking Machine Company, including the famous listening dog which became the company's logo under the title, His Master's Voice. In 1927, Laessle was asked to complete Grafly's The General Galusha Pennypacker Memorial for the city of Philadelphia, a project which occupied Laessle for five years and which proved to be the largest project of his career. His own bust of Grafly (1928) is in the collection of National Institute of Arts and Letters, New York.
Laessle exhibited many of his animal sculptures as well as other works at the National Academy beginning in 1908. He was a member of the National Sculpture Society and the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He spent the last ten years of his life in Florida.
The Pennsylvania Academy's Cresson Traveling Scholarship allowed Laessle to study in Paris, possibly under Michel B‚guine, from 1904 to 1907. He then returned to Philadelphia where he continued his studies with Grafly. Laessle and his wife bought a house and studio in the Philadelphia suburb of Germantown and it was there that the sculptor worked for many years. In 1910, an exhibition of eight of his bronzes was held at the MacBeth Gallery in New York. He served in the armed forces during World War I after which, in 1916, he began teaching sculpture, first at the Graphic Sketch Club then, in 1920, at the Pennsylvania Academy's city and country schools, one of which was in Chester Springs. He also taught anatomy at the Philadelphia School. After 1939, Laessle retired from teaching to devote his time to creating sculpture.
Laessle is best known for his small sculptures of animals, a specialization he chose in about 1907 with the encouragement of Grafly. An early controversy (1901) saw Laessle, like Barye and Rodin before him, accused of casting a sculpture (Turtle and Crab, unlocated) from life rather than modeling it. The scandal brought Laessle some notoriety and, on his subsequent vindication, some fame.
Among his public commissions were a group of bronze penquins for the Philadelphia Zoo, Brookgreen Gardens and elsewhere, and a group of animals in Johnson Square, Camden, New Jersey. He designed the Pennsylvania Academy's George D. Widener Gold Medal; a fountain for the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens; and a number of sculptures for Victor Talking Machine Company, including the famous listening dog which became the company's logo under the title, His Master's Voice. In 1927, Laessle was asked to complete Grafly's The General Galusha Pennypacker Memorial for the city of Philadelphia, a project which occupied Laessle for five years and which proved to be the largest project of his career. His own bust of Grafly (1928) is in the collection of National Institute of Arts and Letters, New York.
Laessle exhibited many of his animal sculptures as well as other works at the National Academy beginning in 1908. He was a member of the National Sculpture Society and the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He spent the last ten years of his life in Florida.
