The Ripley advertiser. [volume] (Ripley, Miss.) 1843-1897, 1858-03-31
Crawford's Washington.

Mills has gained great reputation
for his jackson" but there seems TO
be a preference given by our cotem-
poraries TO the last effort of the la
mented Crawford-his equestrian
statue Of Washington, executed for
the State of Virginia. We take from
cotemporary the following notice OF
the statue and the sculptor:
The statue of Washington, on
horseback, small as it seems in the
picture, is twenty five feet high. A
mong the figures who surround the
base of the equestrian statue are Lee
Mason, Nelson, Patrick Henry and
jefferson. Each is in an appropriate
attitude; while Patrick Henry leans
forward, with his arms outstretched
as if in the act of addressing an audi
ence, Jefferson thoughtlully studies,
pen in hand, the Declaration of In
dependence.
1t is known that the design OF this
noble monument was completed in a
few days by our ilustrious county
man. He was, we are told, STAYING
with some relatives at Bordentown,
New Jersey when he noticed in a
newspaper an announcement that the
city of Richmond, Virginia, had ap,
propriated a sum of money for a
Washington Monument, and invited
designs from sculptors. He fastened
to Boston, made his design, forward
ed it and obtained the contract. II
was, one can easily believe, a labor
of love with him. aud the result will
do equal honor to his fame and to the
llberallly of the city in which the
monument stands.
The deatA Of Crawford was proba-
bly, the severest blow ever inflicted
on American Art No American
over promised such future Had he
lived, IL is the opinion of many of the
best Judges that he would have be
come The first Of living ,cul ptors, and
would have raised American Al at
least to the European level.
Born in New York, in 1919 hc
spent his childhood IN poring over
pictures anu try';inng to initiate them,
his youth passed away in the woa
shop Of monumental sculptors In this
city; he was twenty-five when n"
realized his young dream Of going to
Rome. There he was taken kindly
by the hand by the great Thorwald-
sen, and there his real life began .-
The touching picture his long and
arduous struggle; his stuprndous la
bors; his child like devotion to art; his
pinching poverty, 20 keen that it was
truly said of him that he lived on a
crust; his manly resolution to per
severe to the end no matter what the
cost, and either to become great
sculptor and do honor to his country,
or to work himself to death in the
endeavoi; and his final lull. triumph
ant success; all this has been so we'll
told in the eulogy pronounced on his
memory by his friend Mr.. Hicks, that
it need not be repeated here.
1t was in the heyday of his fame
and power--just as he was beginning
to reap the reward to twenty years
of arduous labor--that death stalked
into his studio. For year or more
the deadly disease was upon him be
fore he suspected the truth. 1t seem
ed so trivial matter-a sore eye
in comparison with the great works
which he had to do before his life's
race was legtima,ely ran. But the
disease grew worse and worse; the
eye slowly protruded from the socket;
the most powerful opates ceased to
secure the sufferer a few hours Of
peaceful sleep; pain of the most in
tense character became incessant; and
at last a time came when it was
duty to tell the great scul ptor that
his hours were numbered, and that he
must die soon. His worthy
close to his heroic life-was simply,
Gods will be donen'
The citizens of Richmond, Virginia
have done themselves honor in erec-
ting their monument to Washington.
The time may come when not the
least attraction of their city will be
its possession Of the last and greatest
work of the great American sculptor,
Crawford