American GI 1971 Ceramic Sculpture by Edward Rohn 1927-2009

Edward Rohn was born in Oak Park, Illinois and grew up in Cicero. His interest in art was nurtured by his artistic mother. Family members said some sketches he sent to a Chicago newspaper when he was about 10 years old generated encouraging comments.

The country was still coming out of the Depression and he decided art could be a hobby but not a career. He worked a variety of part-time jobs as a teenager without finding something to hold his interest. On a cross-country hitchhiking trip, he encountered people with different backgrounds, an education that later surfaced in his ability to understand and capture the person behind the face in his portrait sculptures.

During his last year in college, another student asked him to help with a clay bust being made for a final exam in fine arts. He found the experience of working in clay and creating three-dimensional art more satisfying than the flat work of sketching and painting.

“He was self-taught,” said his son, both of his father’s artistic talent and his technical expertise in porcelain. “He learned the production process, in some cases making plaster molds (for reproduction) with as many as 30 pieces.”

Mr. Rohn got his start by showing his work at amateur shows. After winning top prizes at one such show, he connected with representatives of a company selling fine porcelain figurines who suggested he create some limited edition originals, according to his son.

“His first five pieces were a sea captain, a trail hand, an American GI, a Chinese peasant and a Crow Indian,” Jim Rohn said.

Mr. Rohn established his Elmhurst company, Rohn Sculptured Porcelain Inc., in 1975 and continued to work on original art and commercial reproductions until retiring in 2009. He died in 2019.