Sculptor. He was a 20th Century Czech-American sculptor and educator. Born in 1879 in Frenstat, Moraviam, he emigrated to the United States at the age of 22. Polasek began his formal art training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia at the age of 25. His work includes "Man Carving His Own Destiny" in 1907 and "Eternal Moment" in 1909. In 1910, Polasek received the Prix de Rome competition, which granted him a three‑year fellowship at the American Academy of Art in Rome. In 1913 his "Sower" was awarded an Honorable Mention at the Paris Spring Salon. In early 1927, Albin Polasek was elected an Associate Member of the National Academy of Design, an honor bestowed upon America's top painters, sculptors, printmakers and architects. Some of his public commissions include the "Theodore Thomas Memorial" in 1924 and the "Masaryk Memorial "in 1941 in Chicago and the "Wilson Memorial" in 1926, "Radigast" in 1929 and "Sts. Cyril and Methodius" in 1929 in the Czech Republic. His "Mother Crying Over the World" in 1942 is a world symbol depicting the horror and grief of the Holocaust. In 1916 he was invited to head the Sculpture Department at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he remained for nearly thirty years. At the age of 70, he retired to Winter Park, Florida, a community known for its support of art. He had a stroke with the loss of his left arm and left leg, becoming wheelchair bound, yet was able to produce 18th major works. The next year he married for the first time to a former student Ruth Sherwood, who died two years later. At age 79, he married a widow, Emily Muska Kubat. He is buried alongside first wife Ruth and Emily with her first husband. His "12th Station of the Cross" 1939 marks his final resting place.
Sculptor. He was a 20th Century Czech-American sculptor and educator. Born in 1879 in Frenstat, Moraviam, he emigrated to the United States at the age of 22. Polasek began his formal art training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia at the age of 25. His work includes "Man Carving His Own Destiny" in 1907 and "Eternal Moment" in 1909. In 1910, Polasek received the Prix de Rome competition, which granted him a three‑year fellowship at the American Academy of Art in Rome. In 1913 his "Sower" was awarded an Honorable Mention at the Paris Spring Salon. In early 1927, Albin Polasek was elected an Associate Member of the National Academy of Design, an honor bestowed upon America's top painters, sculptors, printmakers and architects. Some of his public commissions include the "Theodore Thomas Memorial" in 1924 and the "Masaryk Memorial "in 1941 in Chicago and the "Wilson Memorial" in 1926, "Radigast" in 1929 and "Sts. Cyril and Methodius" in 1929 in the Czech Republic. His "Mother Crying Over the World" in 1942 is a world symbol depicting the horror and grief of the Holocaust. In 1916 he was invited to head the Sculpture Department at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he remained for nearly thirty years. At the age of 70, he retired to Winter Park, Florida, a community known for its support of art. He had a stroke with the loss of his left arm and left leg, becoming wheelchair bound, yet was able to produce 18th major works. The next year he married for the first time to a former student Ruth Sherwood, who died two years later. At age 79, he married a widow, Emily Muska Kubat. He is buried alongside first wife Ruth and Emily with her first husband. His "12th Station of the Cross" 1939 marks his final resting place.
Bio by: William R. Cavins
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