VOLCK, folk, Adalbert J., American art connoisseur: b. Augsburg, Germany, 14 April 1828, a scion of the famous Strakonitch family of Poland; '1 26 March 1912. His youth was spent at the art centres of Nuremberg and Munich, where he frequented the studios of the masters there assembled. Becoming involved in the Revolution of 1848 he was obliged to flee the country and made his way to America After visiting various cities he in 1849 settled in Baltimore and thenceforward devoted the greatest portion of his time and immense energy to the varied forms of art. About the year 1859 he established himself in the suburb of Catonsville and when the Civil War broke out shortly afterward he espoused the Southern cause and soon became a special agent of the Confederate government, scorrung any pay and frequently running the blockade into Virginia as the carrier of despatches. When General Butler on 13 May 1861 seized Baltimore, Dr. Volck's artistic ire was roused and he began making a series of cartoons of the Northern leaders, which have come to fame as the years have passed. Published surreptitiously at first by the artist himself, they have since been re published a number of times. he was a per sonal friend of President and Mrs. Jefferson Davis and had the good forume to slcetch a portrait of Stonewall Jackson on the field not long after the second battle of Bull Run.
Another phase of Dr. Volck's many sided artistic career was his notable connection with amateur theatricals in Baltimore shortly after the close of the Civil War. The success of his artistic efforts on the stage was truly astonishing and will long be remembered by those who were fortunate enough to see them. The closing years of his long life were spent in the midst of his own artistic creations with which his home in Baltimore was literally filled. The last important piece of silversmithing ex ecuted by the artist was a memorial shield to Southern women made in the year 1909. It was dedicated by the venerable craftsman to the women of the South gas a continual re minder to those of the present generation of the splendid example of self-sacrifice, endur ance and womanly virtues displayed during the war between the States, and which still exists as an important factor in making the New South greater and more prosperous than ever.° These are his own words in explanation of the thought that inspired him while at work on this beautiful creation of the imagination.
A fuller account of his life and work may be found in George C. Keidel's 'Catonsville Biographies ' ( 1915 ) .