Medium/Discipline: Sculpture
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland
Place of Death: Baltimore, Maryland
Maryland Affiliation: Born here, Active while in residence
Prominent Theme: Figural; Monuments; Sculpture
Style/Period: Realism; Public art
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Biography: Baltimore native Henry Berge was born in 1908 into a family with a tradition of stonework and sculpture that is represented throughout the City in public monuments. Henry Berge was the son of Edward Henry Berge and the grandson of Henry Berge, an architect and marble cutter. Authors Henry and Caroline Naylor wrote of Henry Berge's style that it displays "unmistakable conservatism" characteristic of 19th Century sculpture during a period of the 20th century when cubism, abstract art and expressionism were prominent forces.
A list of Henry Berge's public monuments in Baltimore City is provided below:
- Family Group, Lafayette Courts.
- Recreation and Education, McCulloh Homes.
- St. Francis, Kernan's Hospital.
- Sea Urchin (enlargement of original by Edward Berge), Washington Square.
- Untitled, Riverside Park Whiffle Ball Stadium.
- Untitled, Cherry Hill Administration Building.
In the First Unitarian Church of Maryland (located at 1 West Hamilton Street
Baltimore, MD 21201), Antonio Capellano made the original terra cotta relief "Angel of Truth" on the front of the church and Henry Berge constructed a replica of the relief in the late 1950s to replace the decayed original.
Henry Berge's grandfather, also Henry Berge, was an architect and marble cutter, who drew up plans for the B'nai Israel Congregation of Baltimore synagogue at 27 Lloyd Street and was paid a fee of $100 in 1876. The synagogue also features fancy stonework by the elder Henry Berge.
Selected References: First Unitarian Church of Maryland Web site: www.firstunitarian.net/church/history/index.asp
Naylor, Henry and Caroline. Public Monuments & Sculpture of Baltimore: An Introduction to the Collection, (Bethesda, Md.: The Writer's Center), 1987.
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