Artist

Ferdinand Pettrich

born Dresden, Germany 1798-died Rome, Italy 1872
Media - portrait_image_114966.jpg - 129325
Ferdinand Pettrich, Self Portrait, 1840, painted plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum,Museum acquisition XX24.
Also known as
  • Frederick Augustus Ferdinand Pettrich
  • Ferdinand Frederick August Pettrich
  • Ferdinand August Pettrich
  • Friedrich August Pettrich
  • Frederick August Pettrich
  • Frederick August Ferdinand Pettrich
Born
Dresden, Germany
Died
Rome, Italy
Active in
  • Washington, District of Columbia, United States
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Biography

Ferdinand Pettrich grew up in the city of Dresden, Germany, and apprenticed to his father Franz Johann Pettrich, a court sculptor for the king of Saxony. When he was twenty-one, he traveled to Rome to study with the internationally known Danish sculptor and teacher Albert B. Thorvaldsen. In 1835, Pettrich traveled to America with his wife and settled in Washington, where he modeled portrait busts of political figures and visiting Native Americans. In 1842 he was stabbed in his Washington studio and to recuperate moved to Brazil’s warmer climate. He became the court sculptor for Emperor Dom Pedro II and carved monumental statues of the monarch and his court officials before returning to Europe. Pettrich settled in Rome where, after he presented his sculptures of Native Americans to the Museum of St. John Lateran, the Vatican honored him with a life-term papal pension.

Works by this artist (4 items)

Avery F. Johnson, The Isabelle, ca. late 1930s, watercolor and gouache on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1980.128.2
The Isabelle
Artist
Dateca. late 1930s
watercolor and gouache on paper
Not on view
Avery F. Johnson, Skating on Bonaparte's Pond (mural study, Bordentown, New Jersey Post Office), ca. 1940, oil on canvas mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.6
Skating on Bonaparte’s Pond (mural study, Bordentown, New…
Artist
Dateca. 1940
oil on canvas mounted on paperboard
Not on view
Avery F. Johnson, United States Coast Guard Wet, 1934, watercolor, tempera and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.93
United States Coast Guard Wet
Artist
Date1934
watercolor, tempera and pencil on paper
Not on view
Avery F. Johnson, Low Tide, ca. late 1930s, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1980.128.3
Low Tide
Artist
Dateca. late 1930s
watercolor on paper
Not on view