Warburg was apprenticed to French artist, Phillippe Garbeille, as a marble cutter when he was a young man.[4] While in his early twenties, Warburg established his own studio-workshop in the French Quarter.[1] In the 1840s and early 1850s, Warburg received commissions to create portrait busts, religious statuary and gravestones. Most notably, he designed the floors for St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in North America. (Warburg himself was a lifelong Catholic.)[5][6]
In 1850, Warburg's bas-relief, Ganymede Offering a Cup of Nectar to Jupiter was exhibited for viewing and purchase in New Orleans for $500 (~$18,898 in 2024). The local newspaper, The New Orleans Bee, lavished praise on the young artist's work: "This exquisite specimen of sculpture", the work "by a young Creole of our
city". the critic stated, "reflects infinite credit upon the taste and talent of our townsmen".[1]
Increasing racial tensions, due possibly to jealousy from white artists in the community, caused Warburg to move to Paris. Before he left, Warburg filed a friendly lawsuit against his father to seek his share of the distribution of his mother's estate. His father, in turn, hosted a meeting with a notary public and six free men of color to speak on behalf of Warburg's siblings who were still minors. The participants voted unanimously to order the sale of the three slaves bequeathed to the children. Warburg's portion of his mother's estate was valued at $252.00. Not willing to wait for the distribution of the sale proceeds, Warburg selected his father to represent his interests, and sailed for Europe in November, 1852.[3]
While studying and working in Paris from 1852 to 1856, Warburg was given letters of introduction to potential patrons by prominent Americans, including pro-slavery diplomat, John Young Mason who was the United States Ambassador to France.[7] Warburg traveled to Belgium and England in 1856. He was encouraged and supported in his work by prominent American and British abolitionists, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Elizabeth Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland. In 1856, the Duchess of Sutherland commissioned a series of bas-reliefs from Warburg, based on the story of Uncle Tom's Cabin.[1][4]
In 1857, with letters of introduction from Harriet Beecher Stowe and The Duchess of Suthereland, Warburg traveled to Italy, eventually settling permanently in Rome with his wife, Louise Ernestine. Warburg worked successfully as a sculptor in Rome for two years. His life was cut short, when he contracted an illness and died days later, on January 12, 1859.[3]
