New-York tribune., 1873-07-22
WARDS "PUTNAM.r

ow-a-days bestOws it while he is still living. 70
build or endOw a college. Not that do Mt wish
the colleges well-far from it but wish the rich
| men would oftener reflect that mans mind is not
fed by the college bread aone that there are other
| means Of education in plenty, and that we cannot
have them unless some one pays for them. Not To
look too far away from home is there great city ira
the world that needs museums and Libraries much
| as New-York needs themi We have only that
apology for library called the Astor, and Metro
politan Museum of the Fine Arts that can ouly pay
its current expenses by the queer device OF pro-
hibitory entrancefeel There is many small town
in Europe where it would be Of more advantage for
the student of science art the writer special
subjects to i've than in our much-bragging Metropo
lis New-York charities are many, and they ara
generously supported but it is like pulling teeth 10
get money out of our uch mems pockets ior tho
needs of Culture.
And if this be true Of our largest city, what must
be the lot Of the smaller cities and of the country
townsi As q rule how little there is unless 1t DO
the scenery in these human hives that leads the bees
to think of anything but honey getting. public
park public promenade of any kind. is rare to lind
Now and then there is Reading Room, as rule not
made very attractive; occasionally there is So
called library; but, on tho whole the people arc
hard put to it to find recreation. Yet few rich
men could do much in every place TO put little
color of culture into the lives of their tOwnspeOpe
| and to keep their own memories green. bit Of
| land left in fec for village square, fountain,
| statue, a picture-many man might give one Of
these to his village and never feel t; and If IL
| to be an example much followed, in the Of
| time the aggregate result would be important. Wa
| could name a single gentleman in this city Of ours
| and alas he stands alone in this who has
| twice taken interest enough in art 20 risk his own
money to secure for US what without him, we should
certainly have lost. We owe TO his liberality, no
less prompt than splendid, of Turner's finest pic
lures and the Di Cesnola Collection Of Cypriote An.
tiauities treasure the whole world enyies u.s. And
surely the helping us to such opportunities for study
is great public charity no less than building hos
| ptal or endowing library.
Hartford Is happy in having had a citizen, as News
| Haven had in the late Mr.. Street who thought that
the instructive love of art in US humans has rights
that rich men are bound to respect The late Judge
! Joseph p Allyn of Hartford left by his will sum
of money to erect statue of Gen. Israel Putnam in
| the City Park This might. or might not have been
| a good thing, considering into whose hands the
making of our statues has sometimes fallen; bus
the trustees of Judge AIyn's fund-haying ths
good fortunS to hays Dir. Chas. Dudley Warner
| of their number made sure Of it turning
out good thing by asking Mr. Quincy
Ward to make the statue, and since his return from
Europe the sculptor has been busy with his task.
| and tho clay model having been accepted By the
| Committee the statue is now being cast by Wood Of
Philadelphia. 1t is well to note here, parenthet-
| cally that this is the fourth fifth statue Ward
has made in bronze, and they have all been cast in
| this country-some at Springfield. Mass, Others in
Philadelphia-both Ward and Henry X. Brown be-
| lieving that we cast as well here as is done any
| where. -
! There can be no doubt that Wards latest work
will be felt TO be Of his BEST and of the best
statues that have been made in America. Leaving
out of view the artists statue of Commodore Perry.
this may be considered his first portrait-satue it is
as carefully studied for portrait as Ward could
make it, but it is almost ideal in the result 80 pow
erfuy does it bring before the character of which
Putnam a noble type; the instructive heroism.
quick to feel prompt to resolve, instant in act Sew
eral such men we had among tho leaders in
Revolutionary War, but Gen. Putnam stands IN our
memories the representative of them ALL with ths
advantage ola strong objective flavor derived from
at least three frst-rate anecdotes. Putnam viii
always be the favorte among heroes with boys.
and to be that, man must have the qualities that
90 with real pluck and bravery. Now We think the
Hartford boys will be the first to welcome Wards
statue as coming up to their notion of what the
was who went into the VOLTS den. who galoped
down the steps, who hung the spy, aud
wrote the famous letter. and who left
his plow in the furrow when the news
from Lexington was brought him in the
field and mounting his horse hurried off to the camp
without staying TO say goodbye to his wifei
This primitive hero who to the bOyish mind, makes
even Washington look tame, Wards statue whom
itcomes from the foundery will show US, and both
as a work of art and the portraiture of brave
and upright will do its noble part in educating
generations of Hartford boys to To our think
ing Judge Allyn has done no mean service TO edu-
cation by setting up such statue as this in public
place. The situation we look upon of great i'm
portance Shat up in q room, no matter how stately,
the statue Of Putnam would seem misplaced, and
not only so, it would be greatly shon of its ntiu-
ence Apart from the keeping the hero in continual
presence the statue as a work of art can only edu-
cate the citizens up TO its own hight by becomings
part of their daily life This is the age Of museums
and galleries, but we must remember that the works
of art we go to admire and study in these places
were all made for daily use, aps for the public. IL
they had not been. we shouli never have had any
History of Art to study.
The statue of Putnam 4, of heroic size, standing
about eight feet high. IL represents the hero turned
of fifty (he died at 72, dressed in the uniform Of
general He is advancing if 20 obeya summons-
He holds his chapeau with his left hand, and IN his
right-held against his breast-his sword with lis
belt and SASH His head rs bare. of course. and he
wears his hair in tho well known portrait by
Trumbul, without powder, and hanging loose but
not long over his coat-collar. His body Is swung
round little IN bis vigorous responsive motion, one
foot firmly planted, the other resting lightly, bus
quick to follow. =" am ready is written 30 plainly
on the whole figure that if all memory of the man
whom it portrays were lost. the Patriot" would 10
the inevitable now name it would receive from ths