Elden C. Tefft, best known for his iconic bronze sculptures on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, died Tuesday. He was 95.
KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said the campus is privileged to have Tefft’s work.
“Elden’s pieces are such an integral part of Mount Oread — pieces such as ‘Moses’ and ‘Academic Jay’ — that it’s nearly impossible to imagine our campus without them,” said Gray-Little.
Tefft began experimental research in bronze casting in the late 1940s and later founded the International Sculpture Center.
He was the first person to build a "lost wax" bronze foundry in the United States, and traveled across the country and world teaching others his craft.
John Hachmeister is a sculpture professor for the university, and knew Tefft since his art school days in 1969. He says Tefft's contribution to the art world is immeasurable.
"He should be appreciated and always remembered as the person who brought fire down from the mountain and brought it to everyone else," Hachmeister said. "There was a kindness and real gentlemanly quality to how he approached art and his fellow artist."
Tefft graduated from KU and was an art professor there for 40 years, before retiring in 1990.
He remained active after his retirement, continuing to sculpt and teach workshops. The Lawrence Arts Center held a retrospective of his work in 2013.
Tefft's memorial service will be held Monday, Feb. 23 at 2:00 p.m. at the Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence.
