Estern began as a toymaker, developing the Patti Playpal doll for Ideal Toy Company.[6][7] He modeled the heads and arms, and his wife Anne designed the wardrobes and worked on the overall concepts.[1][3][8]
His sculpture of John F. Kennedy in Prospect Park was originally erected on May 31, 1965, on a marble base: Estern's first commissioned monument. Robert F. Kennedy officially unveiled the sculpture. Plaza renovations were started in 2002, and the statue was removed later on October 6, 2003.[7] After small tweaks by Estern, it was re-dedicated in 2010, this time on a granite base as originally intended by Estern, who said that "[m]arble is a very soft material, very rarely used for monuments".[4]
In 1990, Estern recreated three bronze plaques for the restoration of the Sedgwick Memorial at Cornwall Hollow, Connecticut, which had been vandalized the previous year.[12][13]
Perhaps Estern's best-known work is at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which took decades to complete from inception to dedication. After working on them for over a decade, Estern created three sculptures which are in room 3 of the memorial: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Fala. Controversially, the nine-foot-tall President Roosevelt figure is depicted sitting in a wheelchair.[14]
In 2002, the statue of Fiorello H. La Guardia was unveiled in Greenwich Village, New York. Estern had been selected to create the monument years earlier, in 1988. LaGuardia is depicted mid-stride by Estern, who spoke positively about the reception to his choice, saying "I got letters from people in all parts of the country who said, 'That's La Guardia.'"[15] Estern based the work on "many, many still photographs and also the frame-by-frame study of many newsreels".
In 1948, Estern married Anne Graham; the couple had three children, two sons, Peter Estern and Evan Estern, and a daughter, film director Victoria "Tory" Estern Jadow.[1][16] The Esterns moved to a four-story townhouse on Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights in 1958.[17][18]
^"UP-DATE ON THE NEWS; La Guardia Statue: A Study in Action". The New York Times. January 3, 1988. Retrieved August 1, 2019. Of course, I feel good about it," Mr. Estern says, claiming an "outpouring" of support for his rendition. "I got letters from people in all parts of the country who said, 'That's La Guardia.'
^Neuman, William (February 6, 2005). "BIG DEAL; $8.5 Million Brownstone Deal Raises the Bar in Brooklyn". The New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2019. Among the homes at the top of the Heights market, one of the more interesting is 82 Remsen, which is owned by the sculptor Neil Estern. It is 37 1/2 feet wide and sits on a 150-foot lot with a carriage house at the back end, on Grace Court Alley. Its real estate broker, Kevin J. Carberry, said the four-story main house, which was built in 1837, contains about 10,000 square feet, divided between two apartments. Among other works, Mr. Estern is known for his bronze sculpture of the seated President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Roosevelt Memorial in Washington.