Born
Ruckstuhl in
Breitenbach,
Alsace, France, his family moved to
St. Louis, Missouri, in 1855. He worked at a variety of unsatisfying jobs until his early twenties when an art exhibition in St. Louis inspired him to become a sculptor. He studied art locally, visited
Paris and then worked for years as a toy store clerk to save enough to study in Paris for three years. In 1885, Ruckstull entered the
Académie Julian, and studied under
Gustave Boulanger,
Camille Lefèvre,
Jean Dampt and
Antonin Mercié. He considered studying with
Auguste Rodin, but claimed to be disgusted with his style. On returning to U.S. in 1892, Ruckstull opened a studio in
New York City. His work
Evening won the grand medal for sculpture at the 1893
World's Columbian Exposition. As a result of this national exposure, he was commissioned to make an equestrian statue of Major-General
John F. Hartranft for the
Pennsylvania State University. In 1893, Ruckstull was appointed to teach modeling and marble carving at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art Schools in New York City. He was also deeply involved with creating Confederate memorial sculpture, forging a sculptural iconography for the Southern ideology of the Lost Cause. In 1925 he wrote the book
Great Works of Art and What Makes Them Great, a collection of essays he had published previously, which has recently been reprinted. His sculpture was in the figurative
Beaux-Arts style, with its realism, and detailed modeling. He and other prominent sculptors of the era such as
Daniel Chester French championed the French style of studio system teaching, art societies, and exhibitions. Following the
Armory Show of 1913, he continued to represent the old guard of academic sculpture, a perspective clearly expressed in his book. Ruckstull married in 1896 and had one son. He died at his home in New York on May 26, 1942, four days after his 89th birthday, and was cremated. ==Works==