Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Keyser, Ephraim

KEYSER, Ephraim, sculptor, b. in Baltimore, Md., 6 Oct., 1850. He was educated at Baltimore city college, and studied art in the Maryland academy of arts in 1871-'2. He went to Munich in 1872 and studied under Prof. Widmann in the Royal academy, remaining there until 1876, when he removed to Berlin, and entered the studio of Prof. Albert Wolff, under whose tuition he modelled a figure of Psyche, for which he gained the Michael-Beer prize, enabling him to spend a year in Italy at the government's expense. He also received a silver medal for a statuette in 1876. He now (1887) resides in Germany, but frequently visits this country. He has made numerous portrait busts, which include those of Cardinal Gibbons and Sidney Lanier. His principal works are “Toying Page,” “The Pet Falcon,” “Titania,” “Psyche,” “Ye Old Storye,” and the DeKalb monument in Annapolis, Md. (1883). This was modelled twice, the first figure having fallen while he was altering its pose.