The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-05
4 sr41UE rRoM M pARruENoN.
The Ruined, Expressive Marble Cherished
by an Old Washington Sculptor.

The Ruined, Expressive Marble Cherished
by an Old Washington sculptor.
WASHINGTON, Feb. ITO the southwest from
the Capitol grounds is a stumbling. rough-cast
shed with a solitary white statue against the
further door that attracts the attention OF the
curious. What is It? Where did 1t CONF from?
The Parthenon, he says. Nonsense. one is apt
to exclaim. Nevertheless il has something OF
the Greek look that Is evident. There is the
confident pose. the freedom. the action that
distinguishes the Greek antique: perfect pro-
portions. high. broad breast. sweep Of drapery:
finally, there is the expression Of the thing
triumphant. vigorous. 1t might easily have
been n Victory. He. the strange old man who
works there, says 1t is a Victory points out the
very niche it filed in the eastern pediment of
the Parthenon and traces It's history until his
story becomes fairly lucid. People drive past
just to see 1t and listen to his story.
Sell 1t? l would not take a thousand dol
lars-ten thousand dollars-for 1t" cries the old
man. yet they are always coming and Offering
~money-money for that" His long. knotty
fingers tremble with scorn Of the people. II
will not let 1t be In a museum II Is mine. mine.
Ruined here2 Why? l like to see it there in
the weeds. Look now stand off a bit. See the
effect it produces just sol 1t Is beautiful. but
nobody here appreciates fine art, true ART"
1t has indeed an effect. A walk of Clipped
black and white marble. like a fragment OF a
checkerboard. runs from the leaf-scattered
pavement right up TO the statues foot. Dead
leaves swirl In the tangled weeds tubs of dry
rose stalks and rock mounds choke up the
front stretch OF ground all the way to the sec
ond door, where a stonecutter's sign is nailed.
Over the statue door the sign LOT Flannery.
Sculptor" appears In gilt letters. and tho far
corner is spotted with snowy gravestones. In
tha ,iiatanna EBn aplo.haa - ,rbttnu,a,h
there are fine scrolls with graceful designs.
shafts Of polished granite and topsy-turvy
headstones. Other stonecutters in Washing
ton have businesslike. new workshops. fenced
In properly and not running wild with weeds
and briars. 1t is this very lack Of order that
makes the place odd and interesting-this.
coupled with the lone Greek statue near the
further door. and the old man himself. There
Is something fascinating about 1t all. ~partiou-
larly at night. for then the place looms up in
the blackness like a ruined chapel In the midst
Of a ghostly graveyard. and the statue with its
confident pose flashes out in the electric glare
sheeted-like and solemn. On close approach it
becomes an almost formless pillar OF reppered
rock stained yellow with age. Without arms or
head and the torso we'll draped. it Is remark
able what a striking effect it has from a distance.
No wonder passersby stop and so many hest
tatingly step up to the splintery door and knock.
From a sculptor Of considerable ability the
old man has become an inventor. Every day,
and until far into the night sometimes. he
works. fashions curious models. and draws
plans and plans. He is an American. was one
Of the earliest Washington sculptors. in fact.
and has travelled much in Europe and studied
abroad. He has done busts OF noted men.
equestrian statues. bas-reliefs and monuments.
He does no stonecutting work himself: that is
his brothers profession. Inside his own studio
are tools. iron. marble. plaster busts and old
books and models. Bits OF sky break through
the roof in chinks and splotches and a broad
window high at the front floods the room with
light. Day after day. summer and winter. for
days and days. the old mar has labored steadily
there. The world runs on about him. but he is
centred in his inventions. Always he finds
comfort in his statue. He gets tired of telling
is story. but he never tires of looking at it.
lie says it was brought to this country many
ears before the civil war by Commodore
Boyle. who was cruising in the Mediterranean
and several times touched at ports of Greece.
The statue. a Victory. was taken from the
eastern pediment Of the Parthenon. and the
naval officer purchased it. Inquiry at the
Navy Department does not produce any proof.
that is. does not show the statue to
have been mentioned in the logbook Of the
vessel. Still 1t was a private transaction.
The statue was handed into the care of Com
modore Boyle's brother, md. placed on his
estate in Greenbriar county. Va. near White
sulphur y wpS SPRINGS rim Gsod Here Sron it remained fs a dprInG the
target for bullets and disfigured more than by
Z thousand years Of neglect in Greece, Years
and weeds, and somehow, whether by gift or
purchase cannot he ascertained. fell under the
watchful eye OF the old Washington sculptor.
whose affection for it is as strange and touch
ing as that Of Heine in his dying moments for
the Venus of Milo.