Edward Marshall Boehm 1913-1969

Edward Marshall Boehm was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1913. His surname is pronounced "Beam". His parents separated before he was born. His mother, Elsie Boehm, died when he was seven years old. (He was not to meet his father until he was in his twenties.) Friends enrolled him in an all boys school for orphans and the poor, known as McDonogh School, where he remained until he was 16 years old. He showed some artistic ability at an early age, but it was not until after World War II that he was drawn to the art of sculpture which would be his vocation. .He was attracted to the art of porcelain sculpture and, after visiting some porcelain factories in Trenton, New Jersey, became determined to set up his own factory. In the basement of his home, he developed a formula for an excellent porcelain and began producing sculptures. In 1944 he married Helen Franzolin (1920-2010). They later moved to Trenton, New Jersey. The union was happy but childless. They remained together until Edward Marshall Boehm died 1969. His widow died in 2010, aged 89. Helen was also his distributor, sales manager, and public relations voice, but the pervasive prejudice against American-made porcelain which existed at the time was difficult to overcome, and they struggled, their finances dwindling. Their breakthrough came in 1951, when the Curator of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York purchased two statues for the museum's collection, thus giving an authoritative endorsement of Boehm's art. Still, it was not until 1955 that Boehm's company really began to grow. By the time of Edward's death in 1969, he had seen his porcelains placed in the permanent collections of many of the world's most important museums and galleries. Today one can view Edward's sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Hermitage, the Smithsonian, and the Tokyo National Museum. Years after his death, in 1992, a wing in the Vatican Museum of Art in Rome was named in memory of Edward Boehm; he was the first American to receive that honor. 

Edward Marshall Boehm is buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Trenton, NJ.