Robert Koepnick

A Day in the Life

Tools and Techniques

Casting Bronze

Have you ever wondered how artists make sculptures out of bronze? Gain a step-by-step understanding of the fascinating process that turns a plaster, clay, or wood sculpture into bronze.

Used with permission from the Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT, © 2012

Behind the Scenes

Look Closer

Just for Kids

Try it!

Born and raised in Dayton, Robert Koepnick is a sculptor whose work can be seen all over the city! His works can be seen on churches, schools, the public library, government buildings, and other public buildings and private homes. This sculpture is of Huck Finn, a character in Mark Twain’s novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from 1884.

Look closely at this sculpture. What do you notice? Look at Huck Finn’s pose and expression. Can you recreate this pose? Hold that pose for 30 seconds to a minute. How does that pose feel? If you were asked to model for Robert Koepnick could you make this pose for an hour? Two hours?

Look at the sculpture again. This time think about what might have happened right before and just after this moment. Recreate these moments by acting out the scene.

Signs & Symbols

Dig Deeper

Art Walk/Tour

Download a list of some of Robert Koepnick’s most prominent public works in the Dayton area!

Arts Intersected

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local color regionalism.

The book makes colorful descriptions of people and places along the Mississippi River. Set in a Southern antebellum society that ceased to exist about twenty years before the publication of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it is an often scathing satire on entrenched attitudes, particularly racism.

Literary critics have studied the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn since its publication. It was criticized upon release because of its coarse language and became even more controversial in the 20th century due to its perceived use of racial stereotypes and its frequent use of a racial slur, despite strong arguments that the protagonist, and the tenor of the book, is anti-racist.

Koepnick made two sculptures of Huck Finn, possibly due in part to the subject matter’s enormous popularity during the early part of the 20th century. The other is a memorial titled Boy With Dove, located at David’s Cemetery in Kettering. You can view it in person by following the Koepnick Art Tour found in Dig Deeper.

Additional Information: Text adapted from: Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” accessed 1 July 2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn

The Sculpture Speaks

Did You Know?

Expert Opinion

Look Around

About the Artist

The Sculptor of Dayton, Ohio

Born July 8, 1907 in Dayton, Ohio, Robert Koepnick served as the head of the sculpture department at The Dayton Art Institute from 1936 until 1975 (except during a period of five years during World War II from 1941 to 1946 when he worked as a sculptor at Aeromedical Laboratory at WPAFB). Koepnick married Betty Borland in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1941, and they later had two sons, Richard and John. Koepnick is celebrated in the Dayton area for his prolific artistic career, having provided dozens of public and ecclesiastic sculptures in the city and across the nation. In 1974 Koepnick was awarded the title "Emeritus" at The Dayton Art Institute, and in May 1995 he received the honorary degree Doctor of Humanities at the University of Dayton. When he passed away on July 20, 1995, family, friends, colleagues, and students all praised him for his "gentle" spirit, exceptional teaching abilities, and extraordinary artistic talents.

Additional Information: Text adapted from: Biography of Robert C. Koepnick (1907-1995). Robert C. Koepnick Papers, 1879-1995. University Archives and Special Collections, University of Dayton Libraries, Dayton, Ohio.

Map It

Talk Back