Background
He was born in Paderborn, Germany.
He was born in Paderborn, Germany.
The first, in 1883, refers to "Alois Loher, a Bavarian, a recent addition" in a piece about "Art and Artists on the Future of American Sculpture." In 1886, an article appeared in the New York Herald about the Statue of Germania, "a work just completed in the clay by Alois Loeher".
He created a signature piece which was exhibited at the 1893 Columbian Exposition (the 1893 Chicago World"s Fair). Among his other works are the Siegfried Monument in New York, the Fritz Reuter Monument in Chicago, and a number of medals and busts. He emigrated to the United States., settling first in New York in 1883 and then Milwaukee in 1889.
While living in New York 1883-1889, Loeher was referenced several times in the New York Herald.
In 1889, Loeher moved to Wisconsin and became a resident of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. His address in Milwaukee was listed as Plankinton House, a boarding house located on Grand Avenue, a well-to-do residential area populated with mansions and wealthy homes.
As an indication of his place in society, he was listed in the 1890-1891 Directory of Milwaukee Elite. In Milwaukee Loeher"s reputation grew as a sculptor and artist.
In 1890, the Milwaukee Sentinel reported that Loeher completed a life-sized medallion portrait of Eugen Doctorate"Albert, a German composer and pianist who was visiting the city.
Loeher also worked in bronze, doing portraits of local notables. Two examples of his work can be found at the University School of Milwaukee, which has two large busts created by Loeher - a bust of Guido Pfister and one of Peter Engelmann. Both men were founders/benefactors of the School.
In 1893 Loehr was invited to exhibit at the Chicago World"s Fair (also known as the 1893 Columbian Exposition).
He created a large decorative shield, three feet in diameter, filled with small bas-relief figures of American historical significance. The shield was placed in the fine arts building at the Columbian Exposition, next to Frank East. Elwell"s sculpture of Dickens and Little Nell.
The shield"s location today, if it exists at all, is unknown to Smithsonian collectors and curators. Aloys Loeher died in an accident in June 1904 in Silver Springs New New York He was 54 years old.