The Making of Sculptures with Marshall M. Fredericks

The Life and Legacy of Marshall M. Fredericks

A photo of Marshall and his family. Marshall is the child in the very front.

The Beginning of Marshall's Life

Marshall M. Fredericks was born of Scandinavian heritage in Rock Island, Illinois on January 31, 1908. His family moved to Florida for a short time and then settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he grew up. He graduated from the Cleveland School of Art in 1930 and journeyed abroad on a fellowship to study with Carl Milles (1875-1955) in Sweden and other academies and private studios in Denmark, Germany, France, and Italy, and traveled extensively in Europe and North Africa.

In 1932 he was invited by Carl Milles to join the staffs of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Cranbrook and Kingswood Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, teaching there until he enlisted in the armed forces in 1942. In 1945 Fredericks was honorably discharged from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel.

After World War II, the sculptor worked continuously on his numerous commissions for fountains, memorials, free-standing sculptures, reliefs, and portraits in bronze and other materials. Many of his works have spiritual intensity, lighthearted humor and a warm and gentle humanist spirit like that found in Fredericks himself.

Fredericks was the recipient of many American and foreign awards and decorations for his artistic and humanitarian achievements. He exhibited his work nationally and internationally; many of his sculptures are in national, civic, and private collections.

He resided in Birmingham, Michigan with his wife Rosalind Cooke until his death in April of 1998; they had five children and eight grandchildren. He also held studios at 4113 North Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak and on East Long Lake Road in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan until 1998. After his death the contents of his studios were gifted to the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University.

For a more detailed timeline of Marshall's life, watch this video. It is also listed down below under Additional Resources. “The Life and Legacy of Marshall M. Fredericks” video is the most comprehensive biography of sculptor, Marshall M. Fredericks spanning 7 decades as a public sculptor. The 17:53 minute video begins with his birth in 1908 and follows his life of education, study abroad, meeting Carl Milles and teaching alongside him at Cranbrook Academy of Art, his service during WWII and includes stunning footage of several of his major commissions.