Henry Berge, noted Baltimore sculptor who was a master of the bas-relief, took his own life Sunday at his home in Roland Park. He was 90.

Mr. Berge, who had a remarkably prolific career that spanned nearly 70 years, had been suffering in recent months from bouts of depression, said family members.

The artist was still working in his Roland Park studio-home, where he had lived since 1959.

Born and raised near Clifton Park in Northeast Baltimore, Mr. Berge was the son of the acclaimed Baltimore sculptor Edward Berge, who was best known for his studies of children.

He also was the grandson of a German gravestone carver who immigrated to Baltimore from Germany in 1872.

His twin brother, Stephens Berge, also was an artist.

A graduate of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Mr. Berge studied at the Maryland Institute, College of Art for a year and then studied sculpture for 3 1/2 years at the Rinehart School of Sculpture in Baltimore under J. Maxwell Miller.

Mr. Berge opened his first studio in 1929 on West Lanvale Street, where he worked for 25 years until he moved to Merrymount Road in Roland Park.

"My father did not want either of us to become artists. He said there were easier ways to make a living," wrote Mr. Berge in an unpublished memoir. "So my brother, Stephens, is an artist-painter and I am a sculptor. I suppose one cannot escape his destiny, although I have often wished I had gone other ways."

Sun art critic John Dorsey said yesterday: "In his long career, Henry Berge created six sculptures for public spaces in Baltimore. That's a record rarely equaled in the city's history, and a notable contribution to the community."

Mr. Berge's statue "St. Francis" can be seen at James Lawrence Kernan Hospital. Other works are in city housing projects, parks, cemeteries, hospitals and other public buildings.

He also created bronze busts and plaques, including a bronze bust of Gov. J. Millard Tawes that is in the lobby of the State Office Building on West Preston Street.

His largest work was a reconstruction of Antonio Capellano's "Angel of Truth," a terra cotta tympanum relief that has graced architect Maximilian Godefroy's First Unitarian Church at Charles and Franklin streets since 1818.

By 1900, the sculpture was severely decayed. It was later removed until a reconstruction was completed and installed in 1960 by Mr. Berge, who reproduced the original terra cotta.

His father's sculpture "Boy and Frog" graced La Paix, the estate of Bayard Turnbull, near Towson, once the home of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

The elder Mr. Berge, who died in 1924, also created "Sea Urchin," which stands 42 inches high and depicts a child holding a clam.

Originally placed outside the main entrance of the Walters Art Gallery at the south end of Mount Vernon Place, it is one of the most familiar pieces of sculpture in the city.

However, in 1961 the son created a larger version that replaced the original, which critics considered too small.

The original version of "Sea Urchin" was moved to a garden pool near the Johns Hopkins Club on the university's Homewood campus.

"His profiles and bas-reliefs were absolutely wonderful," said Anne Didusch Schuler, a Baltimore artist and a friend of Mr. Berge's for more than 50 years.

"I greatly admired his work, which I considered to be very fine," she said.

A man of modest height and quiet disposition, Mr. Berge was known for his rimless glasses, casual style of dress and unlighted pipe, which he chewed while working.

"He was a very meticulous artist. He'd work long hours in his studio that caught the northern light," said his son, Edward H. Berge of Cockeysville.

Mr. Berge, a frequent contributor to newspaper letters pages, retained a strong critical perspective on contemporary sculpture.

"I went to see the new statue of Babe Ruth at [Oriole Park at Camden Yards]. It is the worst piece of realistic sculpture I have seen in my 87 years," he wrote in a 1995 letter to The Sun.

He was a fellow of the National Sculpture Society, the Charcoal Club and the Artists Equity Association.

He was married in 1937 to the former Mary Emily Walls, who died in 1981.

His brother Stephens died in 1988.

Another brother, Paul Berge, was killed during World War II.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at St. John's Episcopal Church, 3738 Butler Road in Glyndon.

In addition to his son, he is survived by a daughter, Elizabeth B. Gallier of Roland Park; two grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; and three step-great-grandchildren.

Pub Date: 12/03/98