Biography
Courtesy of
Adrian Alan
Ferdinand Preiss (1882-1943), was born in Erbach-Odenwald on 13th February, 1882. He studied in Paris and worked with Prof. Poertzel in Berlin. This latter point may well have some bearing on the fact that several works by both artists are similar which has, in the past, led many to believe that they were one and the same person. Preiss worked to a great extent with ivory and used the combination of ivory and bronze with magnificent results. His models of children are exquisite, in particular those of all ivory. Another important aspect of his work is related to sport, and in this respect one must see the works as being based on the German ideals of youth and the so called master race, a fact which is particularly evident from the works produced during the Berlin Olympics of 1936.
Many of the works of F. Preiss have the monogram PK embossed in the bronze and this shows that the figure was produced by the firm of Preiss and Kassler. Walter Kassler and Ferdinand Preiss founded the firm in 1906 in Berlin and it continued to flourish until the death of Preiss from a brain tumour in 1943. It has been established that Preiss designed and worked on all his models and had many sculptors who worked for him. In this way he was able to produce many works though, as will be appreciated due to the numbers of each model, it was impossible for him to make each item entirely, although many are signed by him. It is presumed that each sculptor executed a particular component of each figure and that the various parts were assembled, in many cases by Preiss.