Erwin Dietbald Kurz was a German sculptor who was born on April 13, 1857, in Stuttgart and died on October 12, 1931, in Munich. He was the youngest of five children of Hermann Kurz, a writer and librarian, and Marie Kurz, who came from a noble family. Marie initially taught her children before the family moved to Oberesslingen in 1858, Kirchheim unter Teck in 1863, and Tübingen, where Erwin's father worked as a librarian at the Tübingen University Library.
Erwin Kurz passed his school-leaving examination in Tübingen and then enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in 1876, studying under Ludwig von Löfftz. In 1878, he became an assistant to Adolf von Hildebrand in Florence and started a family there. He achieved artistic success in the early 20th century, receiving many significant commissions.
Kurz's notable works include the tomb for Henriette Eller in Munich, the Martius monument in the Munich-Nymphenburg Botanical Garden, and he Schnitterinbrunnen fountain on the Kirchplatz in Lehel. He also worked on the Wittelsbach Fountain in Munich's Lenbachplatz with his teacher, Adolf von Hildebrand.
Erwin Kurz became a teacher at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in 1906 and head of the sculpture school of Wilhelm von Rümann. He retired in 1924 and had an older brother, Edgar Kurz, who was a physician and poet.