Medium/Discipline: Sculpture
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland
Place of Death: Baltimore, Maryland
Maryland Affiliation: Born here, Active while in residence
Prominent Theme: Mythology; American Indian; Monuments; Portrait busts, reliefs and heads
Style/Period: Realism
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Biography: Sculptor Edward Berge lived in Baltimore his entire life, and was one of the first seven students to enter the newly established Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1899. His parents were Henry and Mary Ann Berge who had a marble and granite shop near the Baltimore Cemetery at the east end of North Avenue, which was still a rural area at the time, and made gravestones and tombs. Henry Berge built the Baltimore home that his son lived in for much of his life and was an architect as well as a stoneworker.
Edward Berge came into Baltimore City for cultural events, and in 1899 he became part of the first class of the Rinehart School of Sculpture, which comprised three boys and four girls. The other two boys were J. Maxwell Miller (1877-1933) and Hans Schuler, Sr. (1874-1951); the trio remained friends for the rest of Berge's life. Stephens Berge, Edward's son, would note in a short biography of his father's life that his father was "heftiest" among the three because, "He had to wrestle with marble and granite and he drove horses up the steep hill of North Avenue between Gay Street and Milton Avenue." (Stephens Berge, Edward Berge, A Short Biography, 1983, n.p.)
Upon completion of Rinehart School study, the three went together to Paris where they enrolled in the Académie Julien during 1899, 1900 and 1901 and studied under Charles Raoul Verlet (1857-1923) and Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). While in Paris, Edward Berge won the Clark Prize, given to an American Sculptor, in the Paris Salon for his Muse Finding the Head of Orpheus. Wildflower is a bronze by sculptor Edward Berge which was displayed at the Palace of Fine Arts during the 1915 Pan Pacific International Exposition.
Edward Berge worked in marble and bronze and completed many monuments, portrait busts and relief sculptures, some of which are on display outdoors or in public buildings in Baltimore City. Edward Berge was a member of the National Sculpture Society, the National Arts Club, the Painter's and Sculptor's Gallery Association and The Charcoal Club, a Baltimore group. He rarely left Baltimore, though he once traveled to San Francisco to install his Statue of Liberty sculpture as part of an exhibition to promote war bonds sales, and went to New Hampshire later in life. He bought a rustic one-room schoolhouse there but died of a heart attack two weeks later at age 48. Stephens Berge wrote of his father's short life that, "His life almost spanned the best period for American sculptors. In 1929, the most prosperous days for them were over, so he was spared the frustration and bitterness that many who lived longer had to go through."
A list of Edward Henry Berge's public monuments in Baltimore City is provided below:
- Armistead, Fort McHenry.
- Chapin A. Harris, Wyman Parkway and 31st St.
- Latrobe, Broadway and Baltimore St.
- On the Trail, Clifton Park.
- Sea Urchin, Johns Hopkins University near Faculty Club.
- War Memorial, Cherry Hill Administration Building.
- Watson, Mt. Royal Terrace at North Ave.
- Wildflower, Homeland Garden.
Education/Training: Rinehart School of Sculpture, Maryland Institute College of Art, 1899; Académie Julien, Paris France, 1899-1901
Selected References: Berge, Stephens. Edward Berge: A Short Biography. 1983.
Naylor, Henry and Caroline. Public Monuments & Sculpture of Baltimore: An Introduction to the Collection, (Bethesda, Md.: The Writer's Center), 1987.
Other Publications: Memorial Exhibition of Sculpture by Edward Berge. (Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art), Feb. 5 to Mar. 1, 1925.
Maryland Institutions Holding Artworks: Peabody Art Collection, Maryland State Archives
Maryland Institutions Holding Biographical Material: Maryland Historical Society
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