Born in Dortmund, Germany, he studied art in Munich and Karlsruhe. From 1905 he lived in Paris, France, where he taught himself sculpture. Returning to Germany in 1911, Elkan sculpted large tombstones with bronze statues. His busts and medals are to be found in many major European museums. His main work at that time was the Freedom monument in Mainz, destroyed during World War II, and his memorial to war victims, in Frankfurt am Main, which was removed by the Nazis but restored after World War II. In 1933 he moved to England, living in Oxford during the war. There he made busts of many famous people (including Winston Churchill) and candelabra for Westminster Abbey and other churches. Elkan's majestic Menorah - seven-branched bronze candelabrum with scenes from Jewish history was presented by members of the British Parliament to the Israeli Knesset before which it now stands in Jerusalem.

Bibliography:

ELKAN Benno. Spanien gesehen von einem künstler; mit 32 federzeichnungen des verfassers. Pp. 210. München: Delphin-verlag [1926]

ELKAN Benno. Polnische Nachtstücke, mit Federzeichnungen des Künstlers. Pp. 151. München: Delphin, 1918 [c1917]

HOFMANN, Fritz. Benno Elkan: ein jüdischer Künstler aus Dortmund. Mit Fotografien von Jürgen Spiler. Pp. 128. Essen: Klartext; Dortmund: Stadtsparkasse Dortmund, 1997.

ARBEL, Naftali. ha-Menorah ha-gedolah. Pp. 102. [1972]

Links:

The Knesset - For a Quick Time movie of the Menorah by Benno Elkan

Jewish Virtual Library - The Knesset Menorah

Biography and Work of Benno Elkan - in German

Benno Elkan (1877-1960), sculptor, a biography