Georg John Lober

Georg John Lober (November 7, 1891 – December 14, 1961) was an American sculptor best known for his 1959 statue of composer George M. Cohan situated in Times Square, a 1949 sculpture of statesman Thomas Paine in Morristown, New Jersey, and a bronze sculpture of Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen located in Central Park, Manhattan. He served for nearly two decades as executive secretary for the New York City Municipal Art Commission, from 1943 to 1960.

Background Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1892, Lober moved to Keyport, New Jersey, as a teenager.

Lober created an seated figure of Hans Christian Andersen on a granite bench for New York City's Central Park, which was installed in 1956. It was cast in bronze at Long Island City's Modern Art Foundry. The statue was designed to accompany an outdoor center for story-telling, and was placed on a 40-foot square stone platform surrounded by benches, trees and shrubs. The $75,000 cost of the monument was covered in part by contributions from Danish and American schoolchildren. Lober returned to the theme with his 1955 medal commemorating the 150th anniversary of Anderson's birth, created for the Society of Medalists.

Composer Oscar Hammerstein II was the chairman of a committee that selected Lober and architect Otto F. Langmann to develop a statue of composer, playwright, and actor George M. Cohan. It was installed in Father Duffy Square on Broadway at the northern end of Times Square in Midtown Manhattan. The statue was formally unveiled and dedicated on September 11, 1959, by Mayor Robert F. Wagner.

Denmark In 1912, Lober created an emblem for the Rebild National Park (Danish: Rebild Bakker] in Rebild, Region Nordjylland, Denmark. He also made a bronze relief of United States President Abraham Lincoln that was installed in Rebild National Park. Lober's bronze portrait of native son Hans Christian Andersen is in the Odense Museum. Denmark recognized Lober in 1950 with an appointment as a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog.