Biography
Felix de Weldon was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary on 12 April 1907. He received his early education at St. Egichins Grammar School. In 1925, he earned an A.B. from Marchetti College, a preparatory college. From the University of Vienna's Academy of Creative Arts and School of Architecture, he earned his M.A. and M.S. degrees in 1927 and his PhD in 1929.
De Weldon first received notice as a sculptor at the age of 17, with his statue of Austrian educator and diplomat Professor Ludo Hartman. In the 1920s, he joined artist's communes in France, Italy and Spain. De Weldon eventually moved to London, where he gained a number of commissions, among them a portrait sculpture of George V.
A consequential trip to Canada to sculpt Prime Minister Mackenzie King brought De Weldon to North America, and he decided to settle in the United States. De Weldon enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II and was discharged with the rank of Painter Second Class (PTR 2). He became an United States citizen in 1945.
In 1950, President Truman appointed de Weldon to the United States Fine Arts Commission. In 1956, he was re-appointed by President Eisenhower, and again in 1961 by President Kennedy. In 1959 he received an honorary knighted for his service to the British Crown. (As he was not a Royal subject he was not entitled to by styled as "Sir Felix de Weldon.”)
In 1951, De Weldon acquired the historic Beacon Rock estate in Newport, Rhode Island, where he lived until 1996, when he lost the property and most of his assets to financial hardship.
Felix de Weldon died on June 3, 2003.
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