JIROUCH, FRANK L. (3 Mar. 1878-2 May 1970), sculptor known mainly for his work in Cleveland's Cultural Gardens, was born of a Czech father, Austin Jirouch, and German mother, Mary (Girgur) Jirouch, in Cleveland. Little is known of his early life, but at the turn of the century he and Geo. Fischer worked together as woodcarvers on the Prudential Bldg. in New York City. In 1902, the two returned to Cleveland and started the firm of Fischer & Jirouch, mainly doing decorative architectural relief sculpture, a field the firm dominated for many years. During WORLD WAR I, Jirouch attended the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. Jirouch married Mary "May" Macha on 6 May 1903. In 1921, he and his wife lived in Paris for 3 years, at which time he exhibited work at the Salon Francais and became a monitor at the Academie Julien. According to Jirouch in a 1964 interview, returning to Cleveland he found the business of decorative relief sculpture on the wane, but the Cultural Gardens were expanding. It is thought Jirouch did as many as 25 of the busts, statues, and commemorative plaques of groups sponsoring the Gardens, the greatest contribution of any single sculptor. Among his pieces were Abraham Lincoln (1950), John Hay (1938), Artemus Ward (see CHARLES FARRAR BROWNE) (1948), and Ernest Bloch (1955).
Campen, Richard N. Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio (1980).