The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-01-20

After three months she took one Of ths
prizes and entered regularly upon q sculp-
tors life.
Illinois will have six figures representing
the six attributes of women, all OF heroic
size. and one central figure at the end OF the
ball OF Illinois Welcoming this Nations"
The Illinois aud Faith, IN the attributes,
are done by Julia Bracken, whose story,
like that Of Miss Mears, reads like the old
tales OF genius hiding in unexpected cor
ners waiting 20 be discovered. Miss Brecken
IL an Illinois girl. who dampened the paper
window shades when she was 5 years old to
obtain colors for picture making. When
she was IL she came TO Chicago TO seek her
fortune, which meant 20 her TO earn her
living in the daytime and study at the art
school at night. Sue worked for year
studying from the antique. One day the
lady with whom she lived saw some cigar
box lids she had carved aud wondering at
their originality and delicacy, carried them
to Mr.. Taft. He took Miss Brackeu as q
pupil, snd in these four years she has be-
come his chief assistant. A sculptor's as
sstant is not the man who sprays the clay
and takes off the rough surface, bus tho
per son who can enter Into the conception
and often carry it out. MIR. Taft can
roughly black out an idea on paper and
Miss Bracken can carry it along alone, al
most, and sometimes entirely, to compile
ton. The central figure in Tsft's "Sleeping
Flora" in the horticultural building " as
done entirely by Miss Bracken.
her work bears the strong Individuality,
lafgeness OF effect, which we hay e elected
TO call masculine" still keeping the fine
ness and delicacy which shows a woman's
hand. She has an order for a large Ma
donna for one of the Chicago churches.
which her friends are hoping great things
of.
Miss Braoken Is entirely original, dislik-
ing anything rave nature as a model. There
is sentiment in her work that is recogniz-
able by the verisst amateur. There is no
need to ask what her figures mean. They
are satisfying. 1t might be hard to express
the idea in words. She presents her idea SO
delicately that it is translated in the be-
holder into an emotion.
Mrs. Copp, who 10 a regular sculptor in
Chicago. and for several years a pupil OF
Mr.. Taft. is doing large figure Of Mater
nifty that Is very good. She als9 has on
hand bust Of Mrs. Potter Palmer and the
Rev. John Rankin, one of the original abe
litionists
Miss Bessie Potter is q young society girl
in Chicago, so tiny, so pretty. and bright in
color and voice and manner, that no one
could reasonably expect her 10 be anythiu &
else. But ever since she came to Chicago
from st. Louis. several years ago. she, like
every other Chicago girl OF her position,
has worked. In Chicsgo it is only the
daughters OF the rich uncultivated who do
not work. 1t is not good form TO be an
idler. A talent is FURNISHED and rusty wits
are moro deplorable than rusty gowns Miss
Potter has done fine bust OF DR.. David
Swing, which has been put in bronze. Her
figure in the Illinois building is Art" 1t
represents tall and graceful woman in a
Greek gown, holding palette. Miss Taft.
the sister of the sculptor, and Miss Brooks
aud Miss Scudder, all of Mr.. Taft's class
are doing figures.
The studio is a way off in a corner OF one
OF the great unfinished buildings at Jack
son park. impossible to fiud unless you
have guide. Here those women shroud
thepSelves in great aprons, roll their sleeves
up, and deity build the clay about the
wooden aud iron frame work, which more
than likely they have also built themselve s.
Sometimes one stops work, and poses TOR an
instant as a model for another. II is muddy
and jumbled and wesrying, but they see
none OF that. They are looking ahead TO
the calm white figures of which these brown
masses are but the embryo. They see ths
plaudits OF next summer, aud they see the
plaudits Italian skies that they are working
to reach. What is the cold and the stuff
ness OF sculptors studio to tnemI 1t is
the waiting room TO their heaven.