Gabriel Richard

Artist Julius Melchers (German, 1829-1908)

Date1871

MediumCarved stone

Dimensions91 × 26 × 26 in. (231.1 × 66 × 66 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Detroit Common Council

Object numberUAC1129

DescriptionOne of four sculptures originally occupied four niches on the facade of the old 1871 Detroit City Hall. When the building was demolished in 1960 the sculptures were saved and in 1973 placed in their present site on Ludington Mall. Claimed by some as ‘the first sculptor of Detroit,’ Julius Melchers immigrated from Germany to Detroit in 1855. For nearly 40 years Melchers created architectural sculptures, church carvings, decorative castings and shop figures in and around the city.

Relocated in 2017: https://artcollection.wayne.edu/fantasticfour

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