Neil Carl Estern (April 18, 1926 – July 11, 2019) was an American sculptor.^[1][2] Known for his public monuments, Estern's best-known works are his sculptures of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Fala at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington. Estern was also the creator of Patti Playpal.^[3]

Neil Carl Estern was born on April 18, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York to Marc J. and Molly (née Sylbert) Estern. He was interested in sculpting from a young age, playing with clay as a child.^[1] Raised in Flatbush, he graduated from the High School of Industrial Art.^[3] In 1948, Estern graduated from Temple University's Tyler School of Fine Arts^[4] with a BS in education and a BFA. He also studied at the Barnes Foundation and spent time at a foundry in Pietrasanta, Italy.^[5]

Estern began as a toymaker, developing the Patti Playpal doll for Ideal Toy Company.^[6][7] He modeled the heads and arms, and his wife Anne designed the wardrobes and worked on the overall concepts.^[1][3][8]

For much of his career, Estern worked out of a studio in Brooklyn Heights, commonly working in bronze. He also created sculptures of Jimmy Carter (Time, August 18, 1980),^[9] J. Edgar Hoover (Life, April 9, 1971),^[10] and Princess Diana for covers of Time and Life.^[1]

His sculpture of John F. Kennedy in Prospect Park was originally erected on May 31, 1965, on a marble base: Estern's first commissioned monument. Robert F. Kennedy officially unveiled the sculpture. Plaza renovations were started in 2002, and the statue was removed later on October 6, 2003.^[7] After small tweaks by Estern, it was re-dedicated in 2010, this time on a granite base as originally intended by Estern, who said that "[m]arble is a very soft material, very rarely used for monuments".^[4]

Estern designed the medal for the Raymond E. Baldwin Medal, first awarded in 1981. The 2.5-inch medal is bronze, with the Great Seal of Wesleyan University on one side and Judge Raymond E. Baldwin on the other.^[11]

In 1990, Estern recreated three bronze plaques for the restoration of the Sedgwick Memorial at Cornwall Hollow, Connecticut, which had been vandalized the previous year.^[12][13]

Perhaps Estern's best-known work is at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which took decades to complete from inception to dedication. After working on them for over a decade, Estern created three sculptures which are in room 3 of the memorial: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Fala. Controversially, the nine-foot-tall President Roosevelt figure is depicted sitting in a wheelchair.^[14]

In 2002, the statue of Fiorello H. La Guardia was unveiled in Greenwich Village, New York. Estern had been selected to create the monument years earlier, in 1988. LaGuardia is depicted mid-stride by Estern, who spoke positively about the reception to his choice, saying "I got letters from people in all parts of the country who said, 'That's La Guardia.'"^[15] Estern based the work on "many, many still photographs and also the frame-by-frame study of many newsreels".

Estern twice served as president of the National Sculpture Society, once from 1994 to January 1997, and again from 2005 to 2007.^[2] He was also a member of the Century Association and the Rembrandt Club.

In 1948, Estern married Anne Graham; the couple had three children, two sons, Peter Estern and Evan Estern, and a daughter, film director Victoria "Tory" Estern Jadow.^[1][16] The Esterns moved to a four-story townhouse on Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights in 1958.^[17][18]

In his retirement, Estern lived in West Cornwall, Connecticut. On July 11, 2019, Estern died in Sharon, Connecticut, of renal failure.^[3]

• Bronze relief of Irving Berlin, Music Box Theater,^[19] Manhattan, New York; National Portrait Gallery, Washington^[20]
• Statue of Fiorello H. La Guardia (2002), Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York^[21]
• 100th Anniversary Plaque (bronze) featuring Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux (1966), Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York^[22]
• John F. Kennedy Memorial (1965), Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, New York^[4]
• Sculpture of Eleanor Roosevelt, National Cathedral, Washington^[3]
• Sculpture of Senator Claude Pepper (2003), Pepper Museum, Tallahassee, Florida^[23][24][3]
• Expulsion From Paradise (1962), Brooklyn Museum^[25]

• Mildred Vincent Prize, National Sculpture Society, 1992
• Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Award (Fiorello H. La Guardia), 1996
• Daniel Chester French Award, National Academy, 1997
• Maynard Award, National Academy, 1999
• Medal of Honor, National Sculpture Society, 2008^[1]