Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck was a foundry located in Berlin, Germany, that operated from 1851 until 1926. During the 75-year period when the foundry was in operation it was one of the most important foundries in Germany and was known for producing high quality bronze castings.[1]
The Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck foundry opened for business in 1851[2] in Berlin, Germany, under the leadership of its founder, Carl Gustav Hermann Gladenbeck.[3] It was one of the most important foundries in Germany, known for its high quality bronze castings.[1] Some of the first bronze sculptures that emerged from the foundry were marked "Gladenbeck" with subsequent castings over the years being marked "Gladenbeck und Sohn", "Akt-Ges v.H. Gladenbeck", "Akt-Ges Gladenbeck Berlin" or "Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck".[3]
The foundry cast many of the best known bronze sculptures created by German artists in the mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century.[1] In addition to serving the usually modest casting requirements of German sculptors,[1] the foundry was also capable of casting large-scale bronze statues. In 1913 the Gladenbeck foundry cast the monumental Confederate MemorialinArlington National Cemetery.[4][5]
In 1910, Gladenbeck cast theThree Dancing Maidens Untermyer fountain by sculptor Walter Schott. The fountain is located in Conservatory Garden, Central Park, New York. The sculpture – situated on a limestone plinth – depicts three young ladies holding hands in a circle "whose dresses cling to their wet bodies as if they were perpetually in the fountain's spray". The fountain includes three jets, two on the oval pool's sides and a larger one in the center of the sculpture.[6]
In the early 1920s, art deco master Ferdinand Preiss employed Gladenbeck to cast many of his bronze and chryselephantine sculptures.[7]
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The foundry went out of business in 1926 when it declared bankruptcy.[3]
