Daily Kennebec journal., 1897-08-02
SCULPTOR SHAW
Enjoying Himself at His Sum-
mer Home at Winthrop.
He Tells Of His Discovery Of
Translucent Sculpture"
Amerinans Not So Appreciative as Europeans
Plans Tor the Future.

Winthrop, Aug. 1.-(SpeciaD.- Fred
Maine is so justly proud, is passing the
summer months at "Elmhurst, his
country seat in this town. The man
sion, which is a beautiful one, over
run with vines and flowers, at present
contains a house party consisting of
the the artists father and mother, the
singer Madame Henderson of Boston,
Gilberti, the musician, his wife and
mother, and some friends from abroad.
On the river bank which lies below the
house, Mr.. Shaw has located his studio.
an unprctentious building which con
tains the usual parahernalia Of an
artists workshop, and here. among the
most picturesque scenery of this part
of the State. he dreams those beautiful
dreams which later will be immor-
tailed in the pure white rock. Fer
recreation. Mr.. Shaw is playing in a
small way at being a farmer; for he
has his own vegetable garden, his flock
of chickens and his dairy, as Well as a
mushroom bed in which he takes great
delight. His constant companion is
Bimbo. wee, fluffy Russian terrier,
that rules the household.
The career of Mr.. Shaw is so well
known that it is scarcely necessary to
enter into 1t at length. Although yet
young man. he has achieved an en-
viable reputation for excellence in his
profession. and his studio In Florence
where he spends most of his time, is
f1 Npfftfa fnr int ;.,
art. when in that city. His best works.
The Seine Thrower," the Tempest" ;"
Putting the Shot" and the like, have
won for him commendation which he
values even more highly than the ex-
hibition medals And his most recent
productions, the wonderful .transiu-
cent sculpture" which for various rea-
sons is not as widely known in this
country as abroad. has gained for him
his laurels.
This style of work, which is purely
original with myself and on which
hold the copyright for America and
Europe" said Mr. Shaw to the writer,
last week, was discovered in a pecu-
liar way. When working on the drap-
cries of the Tempest" which flow re-
markabIy free from the figure. | dis
covered that light filtered through the
marble. And. thought. what would be
the effect of design chiseled out on
plain slab of marble? | went to work
upon it. and after many experiments,
| had my design to my satisfaction.
was looking for a black and white ef-
feet. with intervening shades of gray
and when my carving was finished, l
placed the slab in an open window, and
stepped back to look upon it, To my
amazement, / found the tones not
black and white, but the softest and
most wonderful variations upon a
sepia. ranging from clearest cream to
an intense brown. Here was dis
covery, indeed. The work was crude.
but | had my cue. and with fresh
design. l began again. ] realized that
| had discovered a branch of art des-
tined to become Indispensable to the
world Of architecture, and l was
naturally enthusiastic.
"Of course you understand what an
important place stained glass occupies
in the modern house." continued Mr. |
Shaw, but what you perhaps do not
understand is the frequent difficulty
which arises from placing it where it
receives a strong, direct light Many
a beautiful window is curtained per-
petually, because of the intense and
distressing light which 1t admits, |
when a strong sunlight beats upon it. |
Just here is where the translucent
marble achieves its highest success |
Giving at the same time more light |
than does the glass, to room, il yet |
50 mellows th@t light that it does not |
offend while the varying colors of the |
sky continually changes the effect Of |
the marble"
While Mr.. Shaw spoke, the eye rested |
upon window some II feet high, which |
is placed in one wall of the studio. 1t |
was the Sylvia" shown at the |
Worlds Fair, an intaglio, showing AL
beautiful, nude figure at the brink of a |
river, her soft curves reflected in the |
waters at her feet The sunlight /
filtered through it, giving almost the
semblanee of life to the beautiful
breast and arms, an, as the shadow of |
a cloud for moment obscured the sun,
the whole color scheme was altered.
sylvia was first exhibited at the
Worlds Fair" said her creator, ''and |
there was where | made my first big
ihfStohC. II 10 my eApeTlcHCc, anu mat
of many another. that America is not
of art Or, to be exact Of
art until it has been pronounced such
by the old world In Europe, artists
are the first to give encouragement and
praise to that which is worthy in eacn
other. They are continually striving
for the new, and better than the old,
and anything which may be produced
is carefully examined. and if good, re-
warded and commended. But, do you
know. in America, the first and most
important thing as l speedily dis
covered, is "a pull and the second, ap-
proval of the foreign powers in art
Had | taken Sylvia direct to London
and opened my studio to the public. 4
could then have found my way to ex-
hibit here hundred fold easier, for
had many difficulties.
It was at first planned that my Win
dow should go to Chicago as part of
the Tiffany exhibit. whose stained
glass windows are so widely known