Sculptor. Robert Eberhard Launitz was a Russian-Empire-born American sculptor, who earned the title of "Father of Monumental Art in America." Born in what is now Riga, Latvia, as Robert Eberhardt Schmidt von der Launitz, he went to Rome to study art at the encouragement of an uncle, who was a German sculptor. Before going to Rome, he had studied the classics, trained for a military career and received the title of Baron. His brothers became archbishops and generals in the army. He studied under Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. He became hearing impaired to the point that he was nearly deaf as a young man. Besides overcoming his hearing impairment, he came to New York City in 1828 with little knowledge of the English language. Since he had finished his apprenticeship in Europe, he found a position as a journeyman under the more seasoned sculptor, John Frazee. In 1831 he and Frazee became partners in the New York studio. Frazee left the partnership in 1837 to accept an architect position with the State of New York. While accepting commissions, he used his warm aristocratic manners, being easily accepted in society as well as being a graceful businessman. He became a prolific sculptor, who was made a member of the National Academy in 1833 on the basis of his bas-relief "Venus and Cupid." He made the white marble commemorative stone for the State of New York, which was installed in 1853 on the interior walls of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. He created sculptures to mark gravesites in Frankfort Cemetery in Kentucky, including the Kentucky War Memorial; Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York; Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama; the monument of author James Fenimore Cooper in Lakewood Cemetery in Cooperstown, New York; and the Broken Mast Monument in Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor, New York. While in Savannah, Georgia in 1851, he created a 54-foot-tall monument located in the center of Monterey Square honoring the Polish aristocrat, General Casimir Pulaski, an American Revolutionary War veteran, who was known as "Father of the American Cavalry". To honor Andrew Jackson Downing, an American 18th century landscape designer and horticulturist, he created a huge memorial urn, which has been moved over the years to several places around the gardens at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In 1857 Launitz joined the National Guard serving Company K of Seventh Regiment of New York, under Colonel Marshall Lefferts in the Engineer Corps. After the war, his high standards declined for various reasons including his aging hands and changing styles. In 1866 he published a lithographed pattern book, which followed with his patterns being widely and cheaply copied. To honor a United States Army officer, George Henry Thomas, he created in 1870 at Oakwood Cemetery in Troy, New York a sarcophagus topped with a huge eagle. This was one of his last pieces. Four years after his death, Launitz' only son, a sculptor died at age 25 in a collision in the Harlem tunnel. One of his most successful students was Thomas Gibson Crawford, who became well-known for artistic contributions to the United States Capitol, including the Statue of Freedom atop its dome.