The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-09
NUDE SHE'S FAMOUS
DUDE" BAIRD TALKS OF REAL
WORKING MODELS.


| "Dians of the G.rden"-No Ten Dollars
. Day in Working for Sure -Enoush
Artists; Neither, Says "Dudie" is There
| shame and Degradation for Eithsi
Model or Artist, No Matter How Much
Aitogetherness There is About 1t.
New York, Dec. S.-The Herald says
| Here is the story Of Miss ttDudie'
Baird, New York's most famous artists
model. 1t was Miss Baird VINO posedfo1
Mr.. st. Gaudens, the sculptor, for the
famous statue OF Diana which is poised
in airy negligee on top Of the Madison
Square Garden tower. The statue was
modelled from plaster cast taken di-
rect from the figure, and Miss Baird here
tells for the first time how it was done.
You can see Miss Baird on famous cam
vases in private galleries. on many OF
the decorative panels in the Congress
ional Library and other public buildings
and now you can gee her right here and
listen to a real artist models story Of
studio life.
That's my figure you see perched on
the tower Of Madison Square Garden.
am the original Diana, Of the garden
as the artists say" said Miss "Dudie"
Baird yesterday.
'sTo hear other models taxi you'd
think that the originals Of the Diana
were as plenty as huckieberries, but, as
as matter Of fact, am the only model
who posed for Mr.. st. Gaudens, the
sculptor, both for the eighteen foot figure
which was first placed there and suose-
quently taken down and for the thirteen
foot figute which now balances herself
ON one of her toes at that airy height.
That's the reason I'm known among
New York artists as Dudie' Baird, the
Diana Of the Garden My real name is
Julia. They called me Dude, because,
when was baby could not pronounce
Julia. and my baby talk for my name
has stuck by me ever since.
I'm tn Diana OF the Gardei' in more
senses than one, for the figure which Is
now on Mr. Stanford Whites graceful
tower was modelled from plaster cast
which was actually taken from my
figure. The plaster was put around me
as I posed. B-r-r! / can feel It now.
1t was so cold at first it made me shiver.
"For the first Diana I simply posed,
just as I would for painter, and Mr..
st. Gaudens made a small model from
my figure. This model was then sent to
the foundry and enlarged to the requisite
size. He did not take plaster cast
from me for the first Diana because the
finished statue was TO be so large that
it wasn't necessary to execute it in such
detail.
But for the second Diana the model
ling was very different. IT took six
korkmen three-qparters Of day to get
the plaster cast Of figure. OF course,
you mustn't think that 1 was piastered
all over at once, and stood that way for
tnree-quarters of a day, with the plaster
har ardening on me. / was, 50 to speak,
cast in sections, and III tell you how it
was done.
Remember that the Diana is poised
on the toes Of one foot. The other leg
is extended backward. Now, Of course,
it would have been impossible for me
to stand on the toes Of one foot al DAY
long. I probably could not have done
necessary to devise some means to en-
able me to maintain the poise. To meet
this difficulty Mr.. st. Gaudens aid two
ladders placed in cush a position that
could be proped up on them.
''To begin with, / at once took the full
pose-arns in position, just as il I was
going to send the arrow wlnizzing from
its bow, the toes of one foot lightly
touching the floor, the other leg extend
ing back as in the statue itself. The
slight bit fdrapeTy which in the finished
statue you see floating gracefully back
from the figure. was not put on me
Mr.. ST. Gaudens must have modelled
that afterward. He posed me simply
for the figure
''In posing it is customary to begin by
taking the full pose in order to get what
We cali the 'torse'-t1le hang Of 1t,
suppose you'd say. But in gstting the
'torse' on this occasion L at the same
time propped myself up on the ladder
by running my arms over two Of the
.ungs.
Then the workrnen began to put the
plaster around me. section by section. |
Il was a ticklish moment, in more senses
than one When the lime in the plaster
began to warm up and the plaster began |
10 set the feeling was, to say the least, |
peculiar, and il was, furthermore, |
ticklish moment, because, although the |
plaster was beginning to set, I didn't |
iare move, for the slightest motion /
would have spoiled the mould. l sup |
pose it required from four 20 five min |
ltes after the workmen had applied |
the plaster for it TO set. Then they |
cut 1t with a thread and took off the |
mould IN two sections
'In this way they went over my en- |
tire figure, section by section, and the |
,ast which was made from ne was sent |
10 the foundry 10 be enlarged. AZ sent |
from Mr.. ST. -Gaudens' studio, il stood |
I've feet six incnes, my exact height, |
ana was. Of course. an absolutely per- /
'ect reproduction oc my figure in plaster. |
F rom tais Il was enlarged TO its present |
size-thirteen feet. II any others among l
the original 'Dianas OF the Garden /
>an say as much, they are welcome to /
their claim.
eff you viii 90 into the main froyer /
IN the parlor floor OF the Fifth Avenue /
rou viii see another figure ., Diana, |
Tor which I also posed. This Diana is /
however. painted on the ce:link. ! am /
represented with a hound and IN a |