Eli Harvey (1860 - 1957) was born September 23rd 1860 in Ogden, Ohio.  He studied sculpture at the Art Institute of Cincinnati in 1884. After graduating he apprenticed under both John Noble and Louis Renisso. Harvey went to Paris in 1889 where he was a student of Emmanuel Fremiet.  While in Paris he exhibited at the Salon where his work was well received.

Eli Harvey returned to New York City in 1900 where he opened his own studio producing sculptures of animals that he had modeled at the major zoos of Paris and New York. Among his best known works are The Elk bronze for The Order of Elks and the bear mascot for Brown University.  Even though Eli Harvey is considered an American Western sculptor his years in Paris and his studies at the Jardin des Plantes with Fremiet gives his sculpture the look and feel of the finest of the French Animalier school artists. The bronzes that he produced after 1900 were cast by both Roman Bronze Works and the Gorham Co.

The life of Eli Harvey is documented in the following books:

Eli Harvey Quaker Sculptor from Ohio by Edith James Harvey (1969)
Animals in Bronze by Christopher Payne (1986)
American Sculpture by the R. W. Norton Gallery (1976)
Dictionary of American Sculptors by Glenn Opitz
Masters of American Sculpture by Donald M. Reynolds
Bronzes of the American West by Patricia Broder (1973)

Select any Image below to see a description and more information about that Bronze


Click this image to view the Eli Harvey Bear Cub bronze sculpture