The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-22
MISS LAWSON, SCULPTOR
AN ARTIST WHOSE WORK SHOWS
GROWING POWER.

An ODlO woman WuO OLuule1 II
Paris Under Rhodin, and Whose
Marbles Stand Beside Those of Har
riet Hosmer and Anne Whitney
Her New York Studio.
NEW YORK, Oct. 20-Women sculptor,
can be counted on the fingers of one hand
Winnie Ream's abortive statues did not ad
vance their reputation, but Harriet Hos
mer's work has strength, if at times it lacks
freedom, and Anne Whitney's m)del for
the Sumner statue in Boston, viii h now
belongs to the Union League Clubs collec-
tion and the controversy about which ha;
been revived recently in the newspapers,
was undoubtedly the best one offered to the
committee and was rejected because de
signed by woman. To these two names
must be added that of Louise Lawson,
whose studio is in East Fifty-niath street,
New York, whose work has won for her the
friendship Of Story and of Sir frederic k
Leighton, and whose figures bear the dis
tinct impress of originality and magma
tion.
Miss Lawson is an Ohio woman. She
modelled figures in clay in her play hours
instead Of making mud pies like other chill
dren, she entered the Cincinnati Art School
with the clearly defined purpose of bending
all her efforts in the direction of sculpture,
she studied in New York and Boston, and
then she went to Paris and became a pupil
of Rhodin. From Paris she went to Italy,
and in Rome and the Etruscan city, Peru
gia, she studied and worked three years.
Then she returned to America, and for
year and a half, or Whereabouts, her studio,
with its warm-colored Roman hangings,
n 4 Al e
seurs.
The sculptor herself is piquant figure Of
woman standing just five feet high. Her
face is strongly and clearly indeed nobly,
modelled, but made gracefully feminine by
curly brown hair Like Rosa Bonheur
she finds the feminine burden of skirts an
incumbrance about her daily occupations.
and wears when climbing about life size
statue a fencing costume of blouse, long
stockings, knee trousers and short skirts,
not quite reaching the knees. This is for
modelling in clay. When finishing the
marble she wears simple, flowing white
gowns.
Sculpture is somewhat arduous work for
woman, but Miss Lawson sets up the iron
for the clay figure and trusts less of the
marble work to mechanics than is usual,
doing in some cases most even of the
rougher work, the pointing out of her
statues. She works from life always and
finds good models very hard to procure.
Her method of finishing flesh is decidedly
original. Instead of the smooth polish
given to the surface by so many Italian
workers in marble, Miss Lawson uses
rasp, which gives lifelike texture not I'M
like the skin. Her knowledge of
the proportions of the human
figure is excellent, and her study of
anatomy. as shown in the poise and vigor
of her figures and the workings of the mus
Giles, thorough. Her work is clean and
straightforward without side issues or mere
tricious tricks of drapery to distract atten-
ton from the figures
The ''Rhodian Boy" which was shown at
Tiffany's year or two ago, is an excellent
example Of her delicacy of conception and
artistic workmanship. 1t excited much at
tentlon while on exhibition. The slim,
boyish figure is that of Swallow lad" Of
the City of Roses in the days of its splendor
1900 years ago, when Rhodes was the gay
est capital of the world, and the Rhodian
harvest festival a revel not unlike the Car
nival of Rome. 1t was celebrated by gangs
of frolicsome boys who went from one rich
house to another, singing songs, bearing
festoons Of roses, the emblem of the island
and carrying swallows, whose twitrering
they mimicked and in whose name they
demanded bread and wine, fruit and wheat,
just as New York and Brooklyn gamins
blowing horns and wearing masks and
fantastic clothes go about in begging bands
on Thanksgiving day. The swallows were
to the Rhodians birds of good omen, and
the statue is an inimitably graceful figure
of beautiful boy with a swallow in his
hand, waiting with wistful look for the
opening of the rich mans door. The tender
curves of childhood passing into the young
vigor of the lad have seldom had such a
portrayal: The pedestal completes the
Idea Of the statue. 1t is carved In low re-
lief with dancing boys twined with rose
garlands
Miss Lawson has a special gift for setting
forth the graces of childhood. A recent
commission is large bas relief for Stephen
b. Elkins' new house. 1t is to be set in the
wall and shows the heads of his four boys,
Stephen, Blaine and two other little fellows,
charming in plaster, whose names | have
forgotten. 1t is to be cast, | believe, in
bronze, and makes a spirited composition.
Two OF the most attractive things in the
studio, beautiful with an idylAc charm, are
heads of children, one the bust of a curly
haired girl, the other that of boy.
"Ayacanora" is regarded by many critics
as the best work Miss Lawson has yet done
1t is woman's figure, of the Diana type,
full of the deep-bosomed strength and
Astounding maidenly vigor Of the antique
models. Ayacanora is the heroine of Canon
Kingsley's Westward Ho," and the statue
was untertaken at the suggestion of some of
KingsleyS English admirers and friends 1t
was modelled at Perugia. and on its COM
pletion the Oldest academy of fine arts ia
Italy, founded by Perugino and the early
school of Raphael, conferred on her a
medal and a diploma of honor and placed
her portrait in its gallery. Ava
canora is represented in the story
as a Spanish girl, daughter of one of
the early explorers, who was carried off in
babyhood by tribe of Indians and became
their queen. The figure shows her at the
moment when she is surprised by the E :
glish adventures under Amyas Leigh,
while she is fishing on the banks of the
Meta, and when, ''quick as light, she
caught from the ground bow and held it
flercely toward him" The face is a strong
Spanish face full of defiance and surprise.
Heavy braids of hair fall upon the Shout
ders, culver with arrows is slunS behind
and the 1.-the figure instinct with deter
mined energy is in the attitude which Nine.
Bola, the ballet dancer, called the most
graceful pos ible to a woman, that of the
archer just discharging an arrow. TIE
flesh finish of this statue is noteworthy.
The marble itself when struck is as musical
as bell. The block from which the statue
was cut cost 5000 before flake had been
Clipped from it, AMI was taken from the
little Serayessa quarry which was dis ov-
cred by Michael Angelo. Ayacanora stands
on pedestal representing two dormant