Photo Credit: Bildgiesserei Hermann Noack
Responsible for the restoration and casting of bronze statues and sculptures worldwide, cultural and artistic figure Hermann Noack III passed away peacefully on March 5, 2026, at age 95. Noack III’s accomplishments are extensive, but remain relatively under the radar. Yet he and his foundry worked behind the scenes in art production and cultural restoration for decades.
Noack III began leading the Noack Foundry at age 27, after the sudden passing of his father. His art foundry worked on the production and restoration of many important Berlin landmarks. The most significant is perhaps the reconstruction of the quadriga on top of the Brandenburger Tor. The famous copper sculpture, originally made by Johann Gottfried Schadow in 1793, depicts the goddess of victory in a four-horse chariot. It has been an important symbol of peace in German history.
The foundry was also responsible for the casting of the Renée Sintenis’ ‘Berliner Bears’, a design that has become the Golden Bear statue given at the Berlinale. They also restored Friedrick Drake’s ‘Victoria’ at the top of the Siegessäule, another symbol of victory and honour for the city. The contributions of Noack III’s business have been so significant that its processes of bronze casting (using both sand and lost wax casting methods) were incorporated into a video as part of Camille Claudel and Bernhard Hoetger’s 2025 Emancipation from Rodin exhibition at the Alte Nationalgalerie.
Henry Moore and Hermann Noack III, photo credit: Bildgiesserei Hermann Noack and Henry Moore Foundation
Noack III collaborated with many influential artists, notably British sculptor Henry Moore, who was known for his semi-abstract bronze sculptures. Since 1958, the Noack Foundry has been responsible for casting Moore’s bronze sculptures, contributing to dozens of works, including ‘Reclining Figure’, ‘Large Two Forms’ and ‘Big Butterfly’. The scale of some of these works is immense, and the impact that Moore’s bronze pieces had on sculptural development in the 20th century is immeasurable. The foundry has also worked on commissions from renowned artists Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Käthe Kollwitz, Georg Kolbe, Joseph Beuys, Rainer Fetting, Georg Baselitz and Jonathan Meese.
Henry Moore’s ‘Big Butterfly’ sculpture, photo credit: Bildgiesserei Hermann Noack and Henry Morre Foundation
Noack III received numerous honours during his lifetime. He was awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf for winning the Admiral’s Cup in sailing with his ship, the ‘Sabina’. He was also recognised on both a national and city-wide level for his achievements, receiving both the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the Order of Merit of the State of Berlin.
Hermann Noack III’s legacy lives on in the pieces he helped bring to fruition.
In 2010, Hermann Noack III’s son (the IV) took over the family business, bringing the foundry into its 128th year and fourth generation of operation. Currently located on the Spree in Charlottenburg, after their move from Friedenau in 2010, the space has an impressive showroom full of bronze sculptural works, as well as a bar and restaurant.
Hermann Noack III’s legacy lives on in the pieces he helped bring to fruition. There’s Moore’s ‘Three Way Piece No. 2: The Archer’ outside the Neue Nationalgalerie, ‘Amazone zu Pferde’ in the middle of Tiergarten and the continuous ‘Berliner Bears’, all of which remain as a reminder of the man who helped shape and preserve the art and spirit of Berlin.
