Bartscht, Heri Bert, 1919-

Heri Bert Bartscht (1919-1996) was a German born sculptor who studied for six years at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and was a two-time recipient of the City of Munich Scholarship. He and his wife Waltraud, a fashion designer, moved to Dallas in 1953. In 1954, Bartscht received the top award at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts annual art exhibition. He quickly became involved with the local art community and founded the Dallas Society for Contemporary Arts, the parent organization of the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts. In 1958, Bartscht helped create a private school of art in Dallas and in 1961 was asked to establish a sculpture program at the University of Dallas, which led to an almost thirty year teaching career at the university (1961-1990). As Sculptor Professor and eventually Head of the Division of Art, Music, Speech, and Drama at the University of Dallas, Bartscht taught students about techniques in sculpting out of wood, stone, clay, and bronze. His sculptures were often influenced by his devout religious beliefs, and Bartscht completed over fifty artistic commissions for churches in the Southwest.

Sculptor; Dallas, Tex.