New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-10-30
Hish Art i'm st. Louis.

St. Louis is only just beginning TO dis
tinguish herself as a patron Of the arts.
She never did claim any of the old masters
as her children, bue she could it she had
wanted them There is not space in this
article to run through her galleries of paint
ing, all open to the public on the European
plan, but we shall refer more particularly
{" her public statues. which are simply
superb.
The paintings-as many az there are of
them-are CHEFS d'~ucre in their way. There
are not many Correggios, but there are Van
Daubs plenty The grand series of animal
groupings opposite the Planters House, for
instance, are after Dore and Landseer.
The new city hall is also beautiful thing
in oil, OF the preRaphaelits school, founded
by Spore. The char useurO of this work,
as seen from the fish stand, can not be sur
passed when it gets the second coat on. 1t
is hard to leave so much that is beautiful
ana artistic in nature, but it must be.
Statuary is one of the divine arts guaran.
teed by the constitution. If any body doubts
this, let him meander through the boule-
Yards Of the future great city and judge for
himself.
First, there is in che hall Of the Laclede
Hotel the head of bison. The dehcacy Of
the carving strikes you with awe it is
colored To represent nature, as was the man
ner with the Athenians in the days of
Praxitiles. This buffalO's head isn't by
him, but another child of the chisel who
studied in the school Of Canova near Den
yer.
On Fourth street there is living stat
uesque likeness in wood .nearly all the
statuary of St. Louis is OF wood) of Philip
Rex, who founded Plymouth Rock. He is
sculptured as he lived, armed cap-a pie.
He always slept with his arms. The scuip-
tor has represented the monarch with a
grab Of long mines. 1t is grandly natural!
Philip always did this kind of thing while
living. 1t is after Michael Angeles Moses.
Pocahontas is on the levee. This belle Of
the first families OF Virginia is one Of the
great chefs d'TMrre done in yellow pine of
our city. Poker il represented in the act of
throwing herself on the top of John Smiths
head to save it. She headed on Powhat-
| tans rage III this way. And, after all, John
| went back on her. Alas! But sentiment
must give way to art. This statue was
brought from Venice, Illinois, and is sup
| posed to have been buried there by one Of
| the former doges.
| The Prince of Wales. done in hickory is
on Green street. This is another chef
d'0upre, anybody could tell it was meant
| for Albert Edward by his scarlet coatee
| the cigar in his mouth. the way he folds his
arms, and his dip, a Ia Greque. 1t stands
near tobacco planters. and was present
Mems Christian Association.
On Olive and on Third are similar statues,
| full length, and overwhelmingly like the
Emperor Of Austria and the Prince Royal
| of Prussia in their native war paint. They
are chefs d'Gurrc also, and were begun by
Thorw alsden and completed by Gustave
Adolphus Stumphein OF this city, Rome
| may be proud of her grand old Vatican,
but FrenchtOwn can claim her Stunt, and
| that's what's the matter.
On Broadway, Cherry street, Franklin
avenue Ia grand boulevard for statues,,
and many other imposing avenues of our
city, there are statues of the noble red Man
as he appeared smoking the pipe of peace
| and scalping the pale face. They are all
| exquisitely whitfield by the oldest OF the
masters. and are from the studios of Flor
ence, Milan and Vide Poche, having been
torn from the grasp of the bloated aristo-
Gratis of France and England by superior
force of dollars to grace our salons and
public pIazas.
flour people will only follow Che muniff.
cen: gentlemen, who have thus led the way
in this glorious iicld of char Osearic th..f
a'~urTs, by placing one of these gorgeous
pillars of high art before his door, what a
magnificent spectacle this city would pre-
sent. Every house with a statue on guard.
The idea is too splendid. Old Athens or
old Rome, Pompeii before Vesuvius took
her in out of the wet, Florence, Miian-all
of them together could not approach the
grandeur OF the conception. st. Louis with
her old masters would extinguish them all,
and throw them Pisa and her leaning tower,
and the bones of the II 900 virgins of
Cologne into the bargain.-St. LOUIS Re