Bernadina Wilhelmina Elisabeth Ney (January 26, 1833 – June 29, 1907) was a German-American sculptor who spent the first half of her life and career in Europe, producing portraits of famous leaders such as Otto von Bismarck, Giuseppe Garibaldi and King George V of Hanover. At age 39, she immigrated to Texas with her husband, Edmund Montgomery, and became a pioneer in the development of art there. Among her most famous works during her Texas period were life-size marble figures of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, commissions for the Texas State Capitol. A large group of her works are housed in the Elisabet Ney Museum, located in her home and studio in Austin. Other works can be found in the United States Capitol, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and numerous collections in Germany.

Early life

Ney was born in Münster, in the Province of Westphalia, to Johann Adam Ney, a stonecarver and alleged nephew of Field Marshal Michel Ney, The only other surviving child in the Ney family was her older brother, Fritz. Her parents were Catholics of Alsatian-Polish heritage. She was the great-niece of Michel Ney, Marshal of France. Early in life, she declared that her goal was "to know great persons."

United States

In the early 1880s, Ney, by then a Texas resident, was invited to Austin by Governor Oran M. Roberts, which resulted in the resumption of her artistic career. In 1892, she built a studio named Formosa in the Hyde Park neighborhood north of Austin and began to seek commissions. Ney missed the deadline and the sculptures were not shown at the Exhibition. The marble sculptures of Houston and Austin can now be seen in both the Texas State Capitol in Austin and in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. She was commissioned to sculpt a memorial to the career military officer and war hero Albert Sidney Johnston for his grave in the Texas State Cemetery. One of her signature works was the figure of Lady Macbeth; the plaster model is in the Elisabet Ney Museum and the completed marble is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection. What is considered to be possible the last known work of Ney, a sculpture of a tousled haired cherub resting over a grave and known as the 1906 Schnerr Memorial, can be found at Der Stadt Friedhof in Fredericksburg, Texas.

In addition to her sculpting activities, Ney was also active in cultural affairs in Austin. Formosa become a center for cultural gatherings and curiosity seekers. The composer Paderewski and the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova were among her visitors. named Edmund Montgomery. They kept in touch, and, although she viewed the institution of marriage as a state of bondage for women, after he established a medical practice in Madeira, they were married at the British consulate there on November 7, 1863.

Ney, however, remained outspoken about women's roles. She refused to use Montgomery's name, often denied she was even married, and once remarked:

She wore pants and rode her horses astride as men did. She liked to fashion her own clothes, which, in addition to the slacks, included boots and a black artist frock coat. On January 14, 1871, Ney and Montgomery, accompanied by their housekeeper, Cenci, immigrated to Georgia, to a colony promoted as a resort for consumptives. Their first son, Arthur, was born there in 1871, but died two years later (possibly of diphtheria, but the cause of death is disputed). Unfortunately, the Thomasville colony did not work out as they had hoped. Baron and Baroness von Stralendorff returned to Wismar, Germany where he died on July 1, 1872.

Ney and Montgomery looked elsewhere in the United States for a place to live, including Red Wing, Minnesota, where their second son, Lorne (1872–1913), was born. Later that year, Ney traveled alone to Texas. With the help of Julius Runge a businessman in Galveston, she was shown Liendo Plantation near Hempstead in Waller County. On March 4, 1873, Montgomery and the rest of the family arrived, and they purchased the plantation. While he tended to his research, she ran it for the next twenty years.

Death and legacy

Ney died in her studio on June 29, 1907, and is buried next to Montgomery, who died four years later, at Liendo Plantation.

Upon her death, Montgomery sold the Formosa studio to Ella Dancy Dibrell. As per her wishes, its contents were bequeathed to the University of Texas at Austin, but were to remain in the building. On April 6, 1911, Dibrell and other friends established the Texas Fine Arts Association (after more than a century in existence, the organization is now known as the Contemporary Austin) in her honor. It is the oldest Texas-wide organization existing for support of the visual arts. Formosa is now the home of the Elisabet Ney Museum. In 1941, the City of Austin took over the ownership and operation.

In 1961, Lake Jackson Primary School in Lake Jackson, Texas was renamed Elisabet Ney Elementary School in her honor.

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<gallery>

File:Elisabet Ney - Bust of Jacob Grimm (1856-58).jpg|Portrait bust of Jacob Grimm

Image:Elisabeth Ney,um 1859.jpg|Elisabeth Ney c. 1859 with a bust of Arthur Schopenhauer

File:Eilhard Mitscherlich by Elisabeth Ney, 1863 - Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin - DSC09903.JPG|Portrait bust of Eilhard Mitscherlich

File:Giuseppe Garibaldi Ney.jpg|Portrait bust of Giuseppe Garibaldi

File:Ludwig II Ney.jpg|Portrait statue of Ludwig II of Bavaria

File:Edmund Montgomery.jpg|Edmund Montgomery

Image:Sam Houston by Elizabeth Ney.jpg|Sam Houston

File:Elisabet Ney in ihrem Atelier in Texas, 1875.jpg|Elisabet Ney in her Atelier in Texas circa 1900

File:Elisabet Ney - Lady Macbeth - Detail.jpg|Lady Macbeth

File:Albert Sidney Johnston Tomb.jpg|Tomb of Albert Sidney Johnston in the Texas State Cemetery

File:Johnston_tomb.jpeg|Statue of Albert Sidney Johnston

Image:Stephen Austin by Elisabet Ney,1905.jpg|Statue of Stephen F. Austin<br />Given by Texas to the National Statuary Hall Collection

File:Sam Houston by Elisabet Ney,1905.jpg|Statue of Sam Houston<br />Given by Texas to the National Statuary Hall Collection

Image:Elisabet Ney Museum Inside.jpg|Elisabet Ney Museum

</gallery>

Works

Below is a partial listing of her works.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"

! Year !! Work !! Location

|-

|1855

|Johann Adam Ney - medallion

|Munster

|-

|1855

|Anna Elisabeth Wernze Ney - medallion

|Munster

|-

|1855

|Tyras – Adam Ney's Dog

|Munster

|-

|1856

|Grave Stele Relief

|Berlin

|-

|1856

|Herman Weiss

|Berlin

|-

|1857

|St. Sebastian Martyr – plaster

|Munster

|-

|1857

|St. Sebastian Martyr – marble

|Munster

|-

|1857

|St. Sebastian Resurrected

|Munster

|-

|1857

|Christ Resurrected

|Munster

|-

|1858

|Jacob Grimm – marble

|Berlin

|-

|1858

|Alexander von Humboldt - medallion

|Berlin

|-

|1858

|Cosima von Bülow

|Berlin

|-

|1859

|Arthur Schopenhauer – plaster

|Frankfurt

|-

|1859

|Arthur Schopenhauer – marble

|Frankfurt

|-

|1859

|King George V of Hanover – medallion

|Hannover

|-

|1859

|King George V of Hanover – bust

|Hannover

|-

|1859

|King George V of Hanover – colossal bust

|Hannover

|-

|1861

|Joseph Joachim

|Hannover

|-

|1861

|Eilhard Mitscherlich - plaster

|Hannover

|-

|1861

|Ernst Herzog von Bayern

|Munster

|-

|1861

|Franz Friedrich von Furstenberg – figure

|Munster

|-

|1862

|Walter von Platenberg – study

|Munster

|-

|1862

|Walter von Platenberg – figure

|Munster

|-

|1862

|Count Englebert Vandermark – study

|Munster

|-

|1861

|Count Englebert Vandermark – figure

|Munster

|-

|1862

|Justus Möser – figure

|Munster

|-

|1862

|Clemens August Graf von Westphalen - bust

|Munster

|-

|1862

|Clemens August von Westphalen - bronze statuette

|Private collection

|-

|1863

|Ricci

|England

|-

|1863

|Elisabet Ney self-portrait

|Madeira

|-

|1863

|Thomas Taylor

|England

|-

|1863

|Genii of Mankind – plaster

|England

|-

|1863

|Self-Portrait – plaster

|England

|-

|1863

|Self-Portrait – marble

|Madeira

|-

|1863

|Eilhard Mitscherlich - marble

|Hannover

|-

|1864

|Edmund Montgomery – plaster

|Madeira

|-

|1864

|Edmund Montgomery – marble

|Madeira

|-

|1864

|Lady Marian Alford

|Madeira

|-

|1864

|Lord Brownlow

|Madeira

|-

|1864

|John William Spencer Egerton-Cust, 2nd Earl Brownlow

|England

|-

|1864

|Genii of Mankind – marble

|Italy

|-

|1864

|Minerva bringing Peace to Cupid and Psyche

|England

|-

|1865

|Giuseppe Garibaldi – statuette

|Italy

|-

|1865

|Giuseppe Garibaldi – plaster

|Italy

|-

|1865

|Giuseppe Garibaldi – marble

|Italy

|-

|1865

|Prometheus Bound

|Austria

|-

|1867

|Otto von Bismarck – plaster

|Berlin

|-

|1867

|Otto von Bismarck – marble

|Berlin

|-

|1867

|Amalie Weiss Joachim

|Hannover

|-

|1868

|Friedrich Woehler – bust

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Friedrich Woehler – colossal bust

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Baron Justus von Liebig – bust

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Baron Justus von Liebig – colossal bust

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Mercury – study

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Mercury – colossal figure

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Iris – study

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Iris – full figure

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Draped Figure – study

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Male Figure – study

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Frieze – study

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Fountain – study

|Munich

|-

|1868

|Count Georg von Werthern

|Munich

|-

|1868

|King Ludwig II – plaster

|Munich

|-

|1868

|King Ludwig II – marble

|Munich

|-

|1868

|King Ludwig II – life-size plaster

|Munich

|-

|1874

|Lorne Ney Montgomery – castings

|Texas

|-

|1885

|Oran M. Roberts – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1885

|Oran M. Roberts – marble

|Texas

|-

|1886

|Lorne Ney Montgomery

|Texas

|-

|1887

|Johanna Runge

|Texas

|-

|1887

|Julius Runge

|Texas

|-

|1892

|Benedette Tobin

|Texas

|-

|1892

|Sam Houston as Young Man – plaster bust

|Texas

|-

|1892

|Sam Houston as Older Man – bronze bust

|Texas

|-

|1892

|Sam Houston – life-size plaster

|Texas

|-

|1892

|Sam Houston – life-size marble

|Texas

|-

|1892

|Stephen F. Austin – study

|Texas

|-

|1892

|Stephen F. Austin – plaster bust

|Texas

|-

|1893

|Stephen F. Austin – life-size plaster

|Texas

|-

|1893

|Stephen F. Austin – life-size marble

|Texas

|-

|1893

|Governor W.P. Hardeman – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1893

|Governor W.P. Hardeman – marble

|Texas

|-

|1895

|Carrie Pease Graham – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1895

|Carrie Pease Graham – marble

|Texas

|-

|1895

|Senator John H. Reagan – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1895

|Senator John H. Reagan – marble

|Texas

|-

|1895

|Governor Francis R. Lubbock – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1895

|Governor Francis R. Lubbock – marble

|Texas

|-

|1896

|Paula Ebers – plaster

|Berlin

|-

|1896

|Paula Ebers – marble

|Berlin

|-

|1896

|Unknown Female Philanthropist

|Berlin

|-

|1896

|Unknown girl

|Berlin

|-

|1896

|Unknown woman

|Berlin

|-

|1896

|Dancing Maenid

|Berlin

|-

|1897

|Bride Neill Taylor – medallion

|Texas

|-

|1897

|Margaret Runge Rose – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1897

|Margaret Runge Rose – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1897

|Margaret Runge Rose – bronze

|Texas

|-

|1899

|Sir Swante Palm – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1899

|Sir Swante Palm – marble

|Texas

|-

|1899

|Lilly Haynie

|Texas

|-

|1899

|Steiner Burleson – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1899

|Steiner Burleson – marble

|Texas

|-

|1899

|William Jennings Bryan – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1899

|William Jennings Bryan – marble

|Texas

|-

|1900

|Guy M. Bryan – medallion

|Texas

|-

|1901

|Senator Joseph Dibrell – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1901

|Senator Joseph Dibrell – marble

|Texas

|-

|1901

|Ella Dancy Dibrell – medallion

|Texas

|-

|1901

|Governor Joseph Sayers – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Governor Joseph Sayers – marble

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Governor Sul Ross – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Governor Sul Ross – marble

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Bust of Christ

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Albert Sidney Johnston – bust

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Albert Sidney Johnston – life-size plaster

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Albert Sidney Johnston – life-size marble

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Jacob Bickler – medallion

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Lady Macbeth – study

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Lady Macbeth – life-size plaster

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Lady Macbeth - life-size plaster

|Texas

|-

|1903

|Dr. David Thomas Iglehart – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1902

|Dr. David Thomas Iglehart – bronze

|Texas

|-

|1903

|Miller Baby cast

|Texas

|-

|1904

|Helen Marr Kirby

|Texas

|-

|1905

|Lady Macbeth – life-size marble

|Texas

|-

|1905

|Dr. William Lambdin Prather

|Texas

|-

|1906

|Schnerr Memorial – wax

|Texas

|-

|1906

|Schnerr Memorial – plaster

|Texas

|-

|1906

|Schnerr Memorial – marble

|Texas

|}

References

Additional sources

  • Selected Bibliography, Elisabet Ney Museum
  • Cutrer, Emily Fourmy, The Art of the Woman: The Life and Work of Elisabet Ney, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1988 ()
  • Fortune, Jan and Jean Barton, Elisabet Ney, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1943
  • Hendricks, Patricia D. and Becky Duval Reese, A Century of Sculpture in Texas: 1889–1989 (exhibition catalog), Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, 1989
  • Little, Carol Morris, A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, 1996 ()
  • Official site of the Elisabet Ney Museum
  • Elisabet Ney, Sculptor, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
  • "Lady Macbeth" Smithsonian American Art Museum
  • Entry for Elisabet Ney on the Union List of Artist Names
  • www.austintexas.gov/Elizabetney