Richard W. Bock (1865-1949) was an American sculptor and associate of Frank Lloyd Wright.

He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials,^[1] along with the work he conducted alongside Wright.

Early years

He was born on July 16, 1865 in Schloppe, Germany but moved to Chicago, Illinois with his family as a youth, where he grew up in German neighborhoods.^[2]

Three years in school at the Berlin Academy studying with Schaper was followed by more studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts School in Paris under Alexandre Falguière and then a tour of Florence, Italy.^[3][2] In 1891 he returned to his American hometown of Chicago to establish a permanent sculpture studio downtown.^[4] Almost immediately upon Bock's return to America, he received three major commissions. For the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, he sculpted major architectural works for two of the event's primary buildings, the Mining and Electricity Exposition Halls. He took on a 14-year-old apprentice, James Earle Fraser, who would later design the famous sculpture The End of the Trail and the Buffalo nickel.^[5]

Columbian Exposition, Electricity Building

detail<ref> The Columbian Gallery: A Portfolio of Photographs for the World's Fair including the chief Palaces, Interiors, Statuary, Architectural and Scenic Groups, Characters Typical Exhibits and Marvels of the Midway Plaisance, Published by The Werner Company, Chicago, Ill, 1894 </ref>

Mining Building|Columbian Exposition Mining Building<ref> Photographs of the World's Fair: an elaborate collection of photographs of the buildings, grounds and exhibits of the World's Columbian Exposition with a special description of The Famous Midway Plaisance, the Werner Company, Chicago 1894 </ref>

detail

He also won a competition to execute an exterior sculpture at the Indianapolis Public Library in 1892.

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