Moses Jacob Ezekiel

How is it that the prolific nineteenth-century sculptor Moses Jacob Ezekiel is largely forgotten today? Ezekiel was the first renowned Jewish American artist and one of the most popular artist-celebrities of his day. In terms of drama his life story rivals Alexander Hamilton’s. Ezekiel fought for the Confederacy at the Battle of New Market as a teenager and was friends with Robert E. Lee. After the war, he established himself as an artist in Rome, and he was honored by European royalty and enjoyed friendships with the likes of Franz Liszt, Queen Margherita, and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Ezekiel created well over one hundred sculptures, but his hotly contested Confederate works have since obscured his other major accomplishments.

Drawing on a wealth of primary sources, Moses Jacob Ezekiel resurrects this complicated artist’s life and work and presents the fascinating details of how his sculptures were commissioned and made. Samantha Baskind shows how Ezekiel’s sculptures shed light on a range of issues, including the modernization of American Jewry, radical changes in the art world concerning style and patronage, and Civil War commemoration. The conflicting allegiances that motivated Ezekiel’s statues—his conservative Confederate leanings alongside liberal views on peace, Judaism, and religious liberty—make him an intriguing lens through which to understand nineteenth-century transatlantic culture and history.

This compelling book provides a complete picture of Ezekiel’s oeuvre and his renowned home studio, which drew international visitors. It will appeal to scholars of art history, Jewish studies, Civil War studies, and American studies, as well as readers interested in public monuments.