Neil Estern

Neil Carl Estern was an American sculptor noted for monumental public art in the realist tradition. He was born on April 18, 1926, and raised in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. After graduating from The High School of Industrial Art (now the High School of Art and Design) in 1944, he attended the Tyler School of Fine Art in Philadelphia (a division of Temple University, now known as the Tyler School of Art and Architecture), graduating in 1948 with a BFA as well as a BS in Education.

Estern also studied at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and worked for many years in Pietrasanta, Italy.

After marrying Anne Graham in 1948, they settled in Brooklyn Heights and raised three children.

Primarily a sculptor, Estern also created several highly collectible vinyl dolls for the Ideal Toy Corp in the 1960s and 70s. He modeled the heads and limbs while his wife Anne created the concepts and designed the clothing. His insistence on crafting dolls with lifelike, unexaggerated features and naturally proportioned bodies was a breakthrough in an era that promoted an idealized notion of femininity, i.e., Barbie. Their Patti Playpal series is now considered a classic among doll collectors.

The pinnacle of Estern’s career was the creation of the principal figures in the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. He spent more than ten years on the massive 8’11” seated figure of Roosevelt, a relief of Franklin and Eleanor, and a sculpture of their dog, Fala. Neil’s insistence on historical accuracy and his honest depiction of FDR’s disability caused much controversy at the time. His Roosevelt Sculptures are on view in “Room 3” of the Memorial.

Other notable public works include The JFK memorial in Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn; Fiorello LaGuardia on LaGuardia Place in Manhattan; Eleanor Roosevelt at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.; Calvert Vaux in Prospect Park, Brooklyn; Frederick Olmsted in Prospect Park, Brooklyn;  “Expulsion from Paradise” at the Brooklyn Museum; Irving Berlin at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., and also at the Music Box Theater in Manhattan, NY; Senator Claude Pepper, at the Pepper Museum in Tallahassee, Florida.

Additionally, Estern created sculptures for several covers for Time Magazine, including J. Edgar Hoover, Prince Charles and Lady Diana, and President Jimmy Carter.

His figurative work is in many private collections.

Honors, awards and associations:

President of the National Sculpture Society 2005-2007 and 1994-1997
Fellow, the National Sculpture Society 1987-2019
Academician, The National Academy of Design 1996-2019
Artist Member, The Century Association
Member of the Rembrandt Club in Brooklyn

Medal of Honor, The National Sculpture Society, 2008
Maynard Award, National Academy, 1999
Daniel Chester French Award, National Academy, 1997
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Award for Fiorello LaGuardia statue in Greenwich Village, 1996
Mildred Vincent Prize, National Sculpture Society, 1992
Dessie Greer Prize, National Academy, 1990
Mildred Vincent Prize, National Sculpture Society, 1988
Lindsey Morris Prize, National Sculpture Society, 1988
National Academy Certificate of Merit, 1979
Samuel F.B. Morse Award, National Academy, 1970.