Erna Weill (1904-1996) was an American German-Jewish sculptor known for her busts of 20th-century persons, in particular civil rights figures. Born Erna Helft in Frankfurt, Germany, she studied sculpture with Helene von Beckerath, a student of Auguste Rodin, at Goethe University Frankfurt. In 1933, a course with Martin Buber in Frankfurt inspired her to pursue Jewish themes in her work. She married a chemist, Ernst Weill. In 1936, the family fled Germany first to Switzerland and then to the United States, settling eventually in Teaneck, New Jersey. She continued her work of busts of famous people, many from the Civil Rights Movement and of Jewish themes. In addition she taught in New York City public schools and had her own art school. References External links Erna Weill papers at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art German-Jewish culture in the United States American women sculptors Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States 1904 births 1996 deaths People from Teaneck, New Jersey Artists from Frankfurt 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American women artists