Adalbert J. Volck

Move to America Upon arriving in America, Volck initially joined a brother-in-law in St. Louis, before following the California Gold Rush west in 1849. While working under the supervision of Chapin A. Harris, he received his dentistry degree from the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in 1852 with a thesis on the subject of "nerves." After graduating in Baltimore, he established a lifelong practice there. Volck was known for his work on porcelain restoration techniques.

Volck was a member of many of elite Baltimore's social clubs, including the Athenaeum Club, and James Innes Randolph's Whitebait Club. Volck was also a founding member of the Charcoal Club of Baltimore, a prominent artists' group.

Artistic output

Beyond sketches and cartoons, Volck's areas of artistic skill included landscape painting, silver smithing and sculpting. Volck's metalworks included copper and silver brooches and shields, including one fashioned after the nibelungenlied.

Death Volck injured both knees in an accident, following which he retired from his dentistry practice, focusing his final years on landscape paintings based on sketches he had made of the American West. He died at his home on Linden Avenue on March 26, 1912. After his death, an acquaintance wrote to The Baltimore Sun that Volck "deeply regretted" having caricatured Lincoln, "whom he had entirely misunderstood."