Bronx County Courthouse
Joe created this sculptured group in limestone. It is on the Bronx County Courthouse, also known as the Mario Merola Building, in New York City. Joe’s note on the back of a photo by DeWitt Ward reads: ‘Bronx County Court House’ and ‘located on Walton Ave side of street Concourse Village’.
Another photo of the grouping is labeled “Justice” by Joe with this description: “Limestone panel 12’ x 18’ on the city and Municipal Court House Lafayette St. N.Y.C. William Laxx and Matthew Delxxx, architects.” The architects names are not legible. The building was constructed between 1931 and 1934.
Some descriptions credit Joe entirely for this work but a history of the Mario Merola Bronx County Building has this paragraph; “The tall rectangular block sculptures by Adolph A. Weinman are largely allegorical, paying homage to the history of government by law through the ages, beginning with Egypt, Greece, and Rome. They were created with the assistance of collaborators and sculpted by Weinman and his associates, Edward F. Sanford, George Snowden and Joseph Kiselewski.”
With further study we’ll discover Joe’s relationship with Weinman who was older than Joe and a renowned architectural sculptor.
Back Home in Browerville
In these photos you can see Joe in his home and studio in Browerville in the 1980s. Many of the photos on the wall are now on display at American Heritage National Bank in Browerville. The sketch is of the last project that he was working on. The Christ the King parish council had asked him to make a Christ the King statue. Joe’s small model of that sculpture is now in the entryway of the church.
Fr. John Gudzeck
Joe made this sculpture while he was retired. Fr. John Gudzeck was the parish priest that helped Joe make connections in Minneapolis. He was born in Wadowice Poland in 1876 in died in 1933. He was the parish priest in Browerville for twenty-seven years and oversaw the construction of St. Joseph’s church (now Christ the King) which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
