Perhaps best known for his crystal sculpture, “The Ideals of Aaron”, presented to Pope John Paul II, in 2005, von Schmidt’s work has also been included in exhibitions in the Anchorage Art Museum, the Nassau County Art Museum and the Islip Art Museum as well as numerous other exhibitions around the country.

         In 1966 von Schmidt’s architecture studies at the University of Florida were interrupted by the military draft.  While serving in the US Army, in Germany, he created a permanent sculpture installation for his military base, in Kaiserslautern.  After military service, he worked as an architectural draftsman and as an assistant to the sculptor, Anthony Cipriano.

 

        A graduate of The Cooper Union (BFA, 1973), and Brooklyn College (MFA, 1977), von Schmidt was on Staff and Faculty of both institutions after receiving his degrees.  In 1977 he was a visiting lecturer at the Rhode Island School of Design, in conjunction with a solo show of his prints/sculptures.

 

        One of his sculptures was featured in the 1968 Haskell Wexler film: Medium Cool, and the following year he won a sculpture award at the Miami Pop Festival.  One of von Schmidt’s engravings is included in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum and SUNY, Purchase, among others.

 

        In 2004, von Schmidt was commissioned by Pave The Way Foundation to create “The Ideals of Aaron.”  The sculpture, a pair of crystal hands holding a globe, was to be presented to Pope John Paul II, in recognition of the Pope’s milestone accomplishments in furthering relations between the various world religions, Catholics and Jews in particular.  During an audience in the Vatican in January 2005, with 150 rabbis, cantors and other invited guests from the Foundation, von Schmidt personally presented the sculpture to the Pontiff.

        In 2006 he completed a commissioned Torah Ark for Temple Beth Torah in Melville, NY; and his 1994 “Luncheon In The Sawgrass”, a monumental scale alligator created for Woodstock ’94 had been installed in Ellwood Park, Huntington, New York in 2008-2009 and recently at Annmarie Garden in Solomons, MD.