Bust of Shakespeare (1916)

Among Motto and Rebeck’s most notable commissions is the Bust of Shakespeare created for the Shakespeare Garden (now part of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens).  The original bust was made of limestone and stood seven and a half feet tall.  The formal dedication of the bust was held on October 21, 1916.

During the 1940’s the bust showed serious signs of deterioration.  It was replaced in the early 1950’s by a bronze bust which was cast after the original by Frank Jirouch.  The bronze bust was exhibited in 2005 at the Cleveland Artist’s Foundation exhibit, “Joseph Motto:  A Jazz Age Journey from Cleveland to Florence.”

REFERENCES

“Sculptors Work on Avon Bard’s Bust for Shakespeare Garden.” Newspaper article found in the Cleveland Institute of Art’s Scrapbook, circa 1916.

Lederer, Clara.  Their Paths are Peace: the Story of Cleveland’s Cultural Gardens.  Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation, 1954.

“Stephen A. Rebeck and Works on Sculpture.” Fine Arts Review, April 1923, p. 4.