Moses J. Ezekiel papers, 1867/1917

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Military Institute Archives
Preston Library
Virginia Military Institute
345 Letcher Ave.
Lexington, VA 24450-0304
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Jeffrey S. Kozak
Phone: (540) 464-7516
Phone: (540) 464-7566
Fax: (540) 464-7089
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions

Terms of access:

Manuscript collections in the VMI Archives are made available for educational and research use. The VMI Archives should be cited as the source. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright holders. Materials from our collections may not be redistributed, published or reproduced without permission from the VMI Archives. Contact the VMI Archives for additional information.

Preferred citation:

Moses J. Ezekiel papers, 1867-1917. MS 0010. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
1 cubic feet 2 boxes
Creator:
Ezekiel, Moses J. (Moses Jacob), 1844-1917 and Nichols, E. W. (Edward West), 1858-1927
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Moses J. Ezekiel papers, 1867-1917. MS 0010. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

The Moses J. Ezekiel papers consist of the papers of noted 19th century sculptor Moses J. Ezekiel, including:

  • Correspondence to VMI superintendent Edward W. Nichols and others (dated 1867-1917), some relating to the design of the Battle of New Market memorial sculpture Virginia Mourning Her Dead
  • Pen and ink sketches by Ezekiel (approximately 67 items)
  • A typescript version of Ezekiel's autobiography
  • Memoirs from the Baths of Diocletian
  • Print material

Biographical / historical:

Moses Jacob Ezekiel, the noted 19th century American Jewish sculptor, was born in Richmond, Virginia on October 28, 1844. One of 14 children of Jacob Ezekiel and Catherine de Castro, he had already started a mercantile career when he decided to attend college. Ezekiel entered VMI in September 1862, and during his VMI cadetship, took part in the Battle of New Market (May 15, 1864) and served in the trenches in defense of Richmond in the Spring of 1865.

Ezekiel graduated from VMI in 1866, and in 1867 began seriously to pursue his interest in art. He studied anatomy at the Medical College of Virginia and traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio where he studied at the Art School of J. Insco Williams and in the studio of T.D. Jones. In 1867 he sailed for Europe and entered the Royal Academy of Art in Berlin, Germany.

At the age of 29, Ezekiel won the prestigious Michel-Beer Prix de Rome for a bas relief entitled Israel. The prize money enabled him to travel to Rome, Italy where he established a studio and lived for the remainder of his life. Ezekiel executed nearly two hundred monuments in bronze and marble. Among his productions were the following:

  • Busts of Lizst, Cardinal Hohenlohe, Eve, Homer, David, Judith, and Christ in the Tomb
  • A statue of Mrs. Andrew W. White for Cornell University
  • Madonna for the Church La Tivoli
  • Faith for the Cemetery of Rome
  • Apollo and Mercury in Berlin
  • Robert E. Lee
  • Stonewall Jackson
  • Pan and Amor
  • The Fountain of Neptune for the city of Netturno, Italy
  • A bust of Lord Sherbrooke for St. Margaret, Westminister, London
  • The Jefferson Monument for Louisville, Kentucky
  • The Homer Group for the University of Virginia
  • Virginia Mourning Her Dead for VMI
  • Napoleon I at St. Helena
  • A monument to Senator Daniel, Lynchburg, Virginia
  • The Confederate Soldiers' Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia
  • Scores of other busts and reliefs
Ezekiel died in Italy on March 27, 1917, but because of World War I, his body was not returned to the United States until 1921. He is buried at the foot of the Confederate Memorial in Section 16 of Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia).

Physical location:
Manuscripts stacks