The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1889-02-02
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Statuary Rall and its Interes ting
Collection of Art-A Recent
Addition In the statue
of Lewis Cass.

of Lewis Cass.
Statuary Hall in the capitol at Wash.
ington has received one of its most i'm
portant pieces of sculpture, the statute
OF Lewis Cass, by ID. G. French, the
young Massachusetts sculptor. Mr..
French is son of the late Assistant
Secretary French, OF the treasury de-
partment, | remember two or three
years ago noticing in the office that his
father had occupied soon after the old
gentleman's death fine plaster bust of
Ralph Waldo Emerson. While l stood
admiring it New York politician
came in to see Secretary Fairchild then
assistant secretary, and occupying that
room. The New York man was curl
GUS to know whose bust it was.
''lt is the bust" said Secretary Fair
child, ''Of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the
poet, philosopher and literary man"
"Well, by jove," said the New
Yorker, 'this is the first time I ever
saw one OF those id literary fellers
in Office"
Siuce making the Emerson bust Mr..
French has resided in Paris, W here II
year and half ago he modelled the
Cass statute. 1t is one of the best
pieces of portraiture in the hall. Sena-
tor Morrill, and Senator Sherman, who
are the only surviving members of the
senate in which General Csss sat, have
manifested great interest iu the statute
and with great enthusiasm pronounce
it fine representation. The pedestal
bears a bronze medallion with the coat
of arms of the state of Michigan. The
state pays Mr.. French $4,000 for his
work. The figure is heroic in size and
there was no place In Statuary Hall
where it would show 10 good advan-
tage except on the spot occupied by the
immense, heroic figure of Ethan Allen.
SO the Ethan Allen was moved few
feet away to the side of the hall and
the Cass statute placed where the
Ethan Allen had stood.
There now remains but one available
spot in the hall for statute. All the
spaces in the circumference of the
chamber, and along the southern side,
where the speakers dais stood when
the house OF representatives occupied
the room, are entirely filed up with
the exception of one small space. On
this, the southern side of the chamber,
stand heroic statues OF Governor Allen,
of Ohio, and President Garfield, both
by Nichaus. In ridiculous proximity
to these fine, heroic figures is the little,
impertinent figure of Muhlenberg, the
preacher general of Pennsylvania, who
was the first speaker of the American
congress under the constitution. This
statue OF Muhlenberg makes Pennsyl-
vania ludicrons in Statusry Hall. The
general law governing the use of the
chamber provides that there shall be
admitted to II only statues of distin-
guished citizens of states, and that they
must be approved works of art.
The Muhlenberg figure seems to come
under neither of these provisions. Not
one American out of ten remembers
Muhlenberg's name, and certainly as a
work of art this piece of marble is a
monstrosity. Muhlenberg seems to be
on dead run, and the guides about
the capitol allude to him as the "sprin-
ter" 1t would be far more to the Gre.
dit OF the Keystone state TO spend fifty
thousand dollars or seventy-five thou
sand dollars for a statue of Thad
Stevens TO stand on this valhalla oi
American statesmen.
| Wisconsin two years ago appropriate
ed fifty thousand dollars for statue oi
Pere Marquette for Statuary Hall with
out knowing that under the federal
law it could not be received, as Pere
| Marquette was not q citizen of any
state. II has been proposed by Wis
consin men to use the appropriation fol
a statue of Matt Carpenter, her most
| a. iphaI Of fNhic hnry
ever. is hardly likely to be done sc
soon after Mr.. Carpenters death.
| Mr.. French has succeeded admirably
with the clothes on the figure of Gen
Cass.
1T is almost impossible" said Mr.
French when | met him the other day
as he was chiseling some parts OF The
marble, "to do justice to the human
figure when clad in a swallow-tail coat
1t is g theory of mine that most sculp'
tors pay too much attention to th'
clothes in the modern costume and no
enough TO the anatomy of the figur,
within them, and on that account ther,
have been failures. In making thi
statue of General Cass-and | freel,
confess that ii is one of the hardes
undertakings | ever assumed-l hav,
made the most accurate and painstak
ing study to decide what the 6gur
should be. | modelled the figure frs
and then upon it modelled the clothes
If there is any success in this statue a
| it stands, it is as q result Of tina
method.
MEN who knew General Cass in lif
tell me that have succeeded in catch
ing the exact pose of his figure, tn
pOise Of his head and the fit and set {
his clothes. ] had difficulty in deter
mining what the costume should be, a
| was unable to secure clothes worn
General Cass, but there were numcl
Gus portraits, full length and three
quarters figure, and some daguerreC
types. | went to Detroit, where Gel
Cass lived SO long and from his friend
and kindred was able to secure acct
rate information. think there Is yer
little to question in respect to the cos
tune. Of course, the greater part {
my work was spent upon the face an
head, where the success in portraitur
must be had"
General Cass was q man of fine syn
t metrical features, but there were di
tinctive peculiarilies about his count,
nance difficult to secure. | presume
made twenty models ot his head befoI
| stopped. The marble III which II
figure is chiseled is from Carrara, an
one OF the finest pieces of stone | evt
saw, perfect in every inch. The figul
was chiselcd in Paris under my direC
ton, and in considerable part mysel
have now moved my studio to Ne
York, where am engaged on a hero
statue OF DR.. Galaudet and one
Thomas Starr King, which will
erected in San Francisco.
The Gallaudet is to stand ont here
Kendall Green, the college for de
mutes, in the suburbs of Washington
Becoming interested somewhat