About
StudioEIS has a long history and we’re not really that old. We began in 1977 doing what we knew
how to do. We were itinerant sculptors for years before deciding to commit and stay in one place.
We were curious and very young. Our parents thought it was a great thing.
We practiced and we got better. Now we’ve done so many projects that there is a small population
of StudioEIS work throughout the country that traces its roots back to our Brooklyn studio.
Our visual vocabulary has always been very broad and we became great interpreters for the world
of museums that was undergoing a kind of renaissance in America. Restaurants and interior
designers also called and in turn we called upon a very talented staff to help interpret new fashion
in the world of design - we did hundreds of projects.
Materials changed and technology with it. Today we not only live in the well-trodden world of the
19th century with our monument projects, but also in the 21st century with digital technology that
allows us to do things we would never have thought possible just a few years ago.
It’s always been collaborative, so we’re always looking for great clients with projects that continue to challenge us – that’s where the fun lies.
All photos except as noted are copyright StudioEIS Inc.
IVAN SCHWARTZ
Ivan Schwartz is the founder and director of StudioEIS. He is a sculptor, painter, and designer, with a keen interest in American history and the use of sculpture in the development of our national symbols. He explores the possibilities of visual language as a storyteller.
With a degree in Sculpture from The College of Fine Arts at Boston University, he packed up and spent a year working in Pietrasanta, Italy in the early 1970s. He was the recipient of a distinguished alumni award from Boston University in 2003, and has shown his work in New York since 1981. Ivan was a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts until the end of 2009 and was also a founding board member of Art Omi, an international arts workshop. He was also President of Innovators in America, 2009-2011, working closely with Sir Harold Evans and Sarah Frank.
Ivan’s visual memoir, “Scratching the Surface,” was published in 2021.
ELLIOT SCHWARTZ
In 1979 Elliot returned to NY from Los Angeles where he had been living since graduate school. Ivan was just about to set off for Japan to install his second sculpture project, for a Space and Science Exposition in Tokyo. Elliot decided to go along for the ride, lend a hand and see the world. In Tokyo, a fortuitous connection to designers from the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. was made and Ivan’s third Museum project began upon return to New York. Their partnership officially began in a small studio on the Lower East Side of New York. The rest is history, so to speak.
He received his training at The University of Cincinnati in Industrial Design and studied painting and photography at The California Institute of the Arts and Yale University. Elliot’s work can be seen in public collections at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The International Center for Photography, the Albright Knox Museum, and The International Museum of Photography in Rochester, NY.
Elliot has shown his work in galleries in the United States and abroad and is the recipient of a MacDowell Colony Fellowship and two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships.
He is currently collaborating on a book of poetry and photography with the critic and poet, Richard Milazzo.
DEBRA SCHWARTZ
With a fierce appetite for organization, Debra keeps StudioEIS on its track where the exchange of information is critical to the success of any project. With an understanding of StudioEIS’ scope of services and skills to deliver those services, Debra works closely with StudioEIS’ Director of Production as a “mix-master” working closely with clients and StudioEIS staff to often achieve the impossible.
She received her BA in Art History from New York University and went on to work in Musical Theater at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and after serving as Vice President of a film promotion company in Soho, NY, she joined StudioEIS. Debra’s diligent thinking and detail management-musical arts and PR training – made her a “natural” for project management at StudioEIS.
BJ ERVICK
BJ Ervick takes great pride in coordinating the immense talents of his crew of sculptors, painters, mold makers, fabricators and craftspeople – helping them to create the finest work for our clients. In our busy studio there are always many moving parts which requires BJ’s expertise. The people, tasks and schedules are all a part of BJ’s bailiwick and he takes great satisfaction working in EIS’ collaborative environment to get the many jobs done.
BJ has been a maker all his life. Never one to sit on the sidelines, he combines his hard-work mantra with years of fabrication experience to produce unique objects while employing an organizational efficiency in production.
BJ followed his artistic dreams at a time when being a sculptor was not seen as a sustainable profession. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at William Paterson University in the mid 1990’s - graduating at the top of his class. He began working for established NYC artists, which ultimately led him to dive deep into art-world production. An artist is his own right, BJ continues to produce personal artwork of a very different nature - obsessively creating his work which has been displayed, collected and commissioned.
SELECTED CLIENT LIST
The StudioEIS Archive resides at the Briscoe Center of American History at the
University of Texas/ Austin. The Archive was unveiled in November of 2014.
PUBLIC COMMISSIONS - BRONZE SCULPTURES
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C.
Maryland State House, Annapolis, MD
The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA
Virginia Women’s Monument, Virginia State Capitol, Richmond, VA
The Henry Ford Estate, Dearborn, MI
Benjamin Franklin College, Yale University, New Haven, CT
American Way at National Harbor, MD
The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores, MI
The Great American Project, Liberty, MO
City of Smithtown, NY
John Jay College, New York, New York
Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall, American Museum of Natural History, NY
Virginia Capitol Foundation, Virginia Capitol, Richmond, VA
New-York Historical Society, New York, NY
Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA
Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Charlottesville, VA
Morristown Green, Morristown, NJ
George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, Mount Vernon, VA
The Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, CA
Legacy Soccer Foundation, Orlando, FL
St. Croix Island International Historic Site, Red Beach, ME
The National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PA
North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, NC
City of Cerritos, Cerritos, CA
Creative Discovery Museum, Chattanooga, TN
Cincinnati Bicentennial Commission, Cincinnati, OH
Lowell Heritage State Park, Lowell, MA
PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES
Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, Mississippi State Univ, Mississippi State, MS
James Madison’s Montpelier, Orange, VA
National Trust for Historic Preservation, President Lincoln’s Cottage, Washington
The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, College Station, TX
FDR Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park, NY
Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Birthplace, Yorba Linda, CA
Truman University, Kirksville, MO
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library
Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, Austin, TX
HISTORY, ANTHROPOLOGY, MILITARY, SCIENCE MUSEUMS
The National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC
The Choctaw Cultural Center, Durant, OK
The Lucy Burns Museum, Lorton, VA
Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia, PA
National Museum of the United States Army, Fort Belvoir, VA
The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, Voncore, TN
Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC
National Museum of the United States Army, Fort Belvoir, VA
National Infantry Museum, Ft. Benning, GA
The Witte Museum, San Antonio, TX
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC
Museum of Transportation, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Arlington National Cemetery Visitors Center, Arlington, VA
Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington,
George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, VA
National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, OK
Virginia War Memorial, Richmond, VA
National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, Dubuque, IA
Eddie Robinson Museum, Grambling, LA
African Burial Ground Interpretive Center, New York, NY
Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, Whitehall, AL
U.S. Army Aviation Museum, Ft. Rucker, AL
California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento, CA
The National Museum of the Marine Corps, Quantico, VA
Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Madison, WI
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham, AL
Virginia Air and Space Center/Hampton Roads History Center
National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, TN
Cincinnati Historical Society, Cincinnati, OH
Jamestown Yorktown Foundation, Jamestown, VA
Museo De Historia Mexicana en Monterey, Mexico
U.S. Army Aviation Museum, Fort Rucker, AL
Arizona State Capitol Museum, Phoenix, AZ
The National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, VA
The Peabody Museum, Yale Univ., New Haven, CT
International Bluegrass Music Museum, Owensboro, KY
Founders Hall Interpretive Center, Prince Edward Island, Canada
The Cherokee National Historical Society, Tahlequah, OK
Rosa Parks Museum, Montgomery, AL
Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Kearney, NE
Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI
North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, NC
National Park Service, Harpers Ferry, Harpers Ferry, WV
Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, NC
Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Mashantucket, CT
Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, Altoona, PA
Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville, TN
National Museum Of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD
United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
Hong Kong Museum of History, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Telecom World, Hong Kong
SPORTS MUSEUMS
San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame, Santa Clara, CA
Museum of Sports, Gurabo, PR
Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, Calgary, Canada
The Puerto Rico Museum of Sports, Guaynabo, PR
Yankee Stadium Museum, New York, NY
Tiger Woods Foundation, Los Alamitos, CA
NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte, NC
University of Iowa Sports Hall of Fame, Iowa City, IA
Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Knoxville, TN
NCAA Hall of Champions, Indianapolis, IN
University of Kentucky Basketball Museum, Lexington, KY
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Macon, GA
Auburn State University, Auburn, AL
Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport, RI
SportsLab, San Francisco, CA
Auburn University Hall of Fame, Auburn, AL
University of Houston Hall of Fame, Houston, TX
University of Arkansas Sports Museum, Fayetteville, AK
Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Springfield, MO
Roberto Clemente Sports City, San Juan, Puerto Rico
North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, NC
CORPORATE
Kaiser Permanente, Washington, DC
TV Land, New York, NY
MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
SONY, New York, NY
Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical Company
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
Hyatt Flagship Hotel, Chicago, IL
Crowne Plaza Hotel, NYC,
General Motors, Detroit, MI
Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Bellagio Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Coca-Cola USA
Mercedes Benz
Chrysler Corporation, Frankfurt, Germany
Nike, Inc.
Steelcase, Inc.
Ciba-Geigy Corporation
Sears Corporation
Tiffany
RESTAURANTS
Haru, New York, NY
Noodles, Bellagio Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Aqua, Bellagio Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Motown Cafe, Las Vegas, Orlando, NY
Crowne Plaza Hotel, New York, NY
Shanghai Lilly, Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
THEATER & DANCE
Rossini Opera Festival, Italy
Bauhaus Dances Of Oskar Schlemmer, NY
Paul Taylor Dance Company, NY