Ann Merck (American, n.d.)
Sculptor and photographer—called Anne in Sigmund Abeles’s work—is known as Friedrike Merck. She graduated from Bradford College and the University of New Hampshire, and studied art in France and Italy where she learned masterworks from a headquarters of classic sculpture, the Pallas section of Pietrasanta. As her husband for several years, Abeles undertook many figure studies of her both while she was informally resting or showcasing her artist’s tools.
Merck states that her work stands as “a dedication to realism, an intimate understanding of the natural world and an awareness of Spirit in all living forms.” Today beyond marble and limestone sculpture, she produces classical metal medallions and coin designs used as memorials for significant people and places.
