Emory Seidel

A.I.C. Artists of Chicago Show, 1921


A.I.C. Artists of Chicago Show, 1924



A.I.C. Artists of Chicago Show, 1925

Emory Seidel (b. 1881) is not as well known today as many of the other former members listed on this site.

But it is known that he was in Chicago by 1903 and won the Palette & Chisel Gold Medal award in 1927.

He also got some local commissions for public sculpture -- for the Damen Ave bridge just north of Fullerton, and for the New York St. Bridge in Aurora -- pictured below:



He studied at the Art Institute with P&C member, Charles Mulligan, as well as with Wellington J Reynolds and Ephraim Keyser.

He was in the AIC vicinity show 17 times between 1913-1933, and won the AIC Shaffer prize in 1935, the Worcester prize 1926, and was mentioned in Lorado Taft's "History of American Sculpture."


In was in the 1939 Art Institute retrospective "50 Years of American Art" exhibit, and he served on the jury of selection for the 1935 "American Painting and Sculpture" exhibit at the Art Institute.


Sometime around 1930, he also had a exhibit with P&C member, Carl Krafft, which was described by the gallery as follows:


To see his tender replicas of children in all their grace and elfin charm is to be at once in sympathy with this artist, enthralled by the blossom like beauty possessed by these mysterious little people. In his modeling of grown up children, we find his hand vigorous in shaping the silken petals into ragged and virile character, the striving and restless human, the youthful breaklance that means to give a good account of himself in the end. His message is written strong in about 15 clay models.