The sun., 1903-06-03
uAR7lNY HAS IT, SAYS H0RGAN
ur.S THE BOl. SAYS SLATTERY,
,o mn STATUES BY THE DOZEN.
,,,,nc ,c'd Like to suggest Few subjects
IA Him. In Case He Would Kun Dry.
is An the sculpture Society Can Get
ont of Hail OF Records Archit ects.

Ou, of Hail OF Records Archit ects.
documentary evidence put in the hands
~ SUN reporter yesterday by Charles
r Lamb. the chairman of the National
Scnlpt,lre Socicty's special committee on
.cuIpure for the Hall of Records. indicates
that Horgan Il Sattery. the Tammany
s-m that succeeded the late j. r. Thomas
a. architects OF the building, are wholly
respon idle for the awarding of the entire
cont ract for sculpture. worth SIS, 600, to
Philip Martiny.
Mr, Lamb also showed that the society
il not making fight on Mr. Martiny, who
Is one Of it's members and highly respected
nv his colleagues, but that the protest
ia solcv directed against the awarding OF
acou,ract of such scope to any one man.
Jnhn peirce. the ontractor who is erect
ioethcuew Hall of Records, had nothing to
do with the awarding of the contract.
All h, has to do is to pay the SIS O0D to the
r4rson selected by the architect The ar
ransemcnt vas made by the late John X.
Thomas, who inserted the following clause
n tho specification prepared by himself
The contractor shall have the models
made for all this sculpture by artists selected
,sc,s for the models or casts thereof. as d-
rertnd hv the architect, delivered in New
York. the sum directed by the architect.
the aggregate being ss5 0On free and clear
OF all rebates. dis counts and allowances.
The wording of this clause indicates that
Mr. Thomas contemplated the division of
the contract into a number of parcels, to
te distributed among different sculptors.
Mr Thomas was unable to foresee that his
own death would interfere with his work
and put the autocratic power he had re-
served for himself into the hands of Horgan
( SIartery a- his successors.
This firm had been in control of the build
ing for more than two years without any
thing being heard about the contract for
SCULPTURE when on March H. this year.
the special committee appointed by the
National sculpture Society to deal with the
matter wrote to Horgan & Slattery Offering
assist anCe and submitting the following
recommendation for the division of the
contract:
Twentv-four standing figures at $1,000
each, two seated figures at $4,000 each,
two heroic groups at $40 600 each; two panels
,ut the Chambers street yestibne at $1,000
each total SIS 600
Three weeks later Horgan 4 Slattery
wrote back that the contract had been given
I" Mr.. Mariny, but that they would be
thankful for a conference with regard to the
subjects To be selected for representation.
Sculpture Society at meeting held on
April H. The society adopted the follow
ing resolution, which was filed with the
Mayor and the Municipal Art Commission
and also forwarded to Horgan Sattery'
The National sculptuIte. Society hear with
rorica societies. the National Society of
and II Hisoro a PreserVaton a society, With refer
ence 10 the artistic embr llishment of the Hall
of Records, the entire sculpture for this huld-
lng has been contracted for with one sculptor
tions made by the various societies for tho
art TGrk for thd tn. most important build
The National Sculpture Society must
therefore,, enter the most emphatic protest
+ Siattery. in authorizins and agreeing to any
contract for the sculpture IN question. which
amounts to the sum OF eightr,-fye thousand
dollars ssS oool. without co9sldesrins tie rec, &c,
fs%"es OF the Bpnrd ' Of ap Hpporo"ment and
LON a" Ssm aF9"ss Y"TR and nd It At o
mttee to present this protest to the proper
authority to see il q re-copssideration cannot
desire Of the architect OF the build Ing, the
late Mr., j Il: Thomas, TO have this building
sculptors Of the country.
The only result was another letter from
Horgan 6 Slattery, repeating their request
for a conference on the subjects of the
sculpture already contracted for. Under
date of May 27, the special committee, in
cnding Charles r. Lamb Herbert Adams
and Daniel c. French. replied to the archi-
,acts. This is part of what they said,
No one sculptor should be intrusted with
The entire sculpture Of such magnitude aS
position to. the experience, Of all countries
where the united work of the art profession
: secured to enrich their public buildings,
No one sculptor can with equal ability
supply the necessary models for Ideal. his
rorlcal and decorative SCULPTURE
tInA in which this building is TO be COM
nIeied properly study or personally execute
sculpture OF this magnitude.
now be Of use unless the modification of the
,idered
our society assumed that You were inter-
">ted in perfectng the work left by de-
ceased member of your profession upon the
I'n"s he established for the completion Of the
'ion- Instead OF contracting for the sculpt-
ire as for so many tons, of granite or steel,
vow would have. BY intrusting TIE work
counletcd the building and by so doing en-
hanced the reputation Of all Interested
d G be m Is 700 'Gr E
roUr decision in the natter
The committee has not yet received an
answer j. O. A, Ward, president Of the
National Sculpture Society, said last night
mat ne lnlOTSpU heartily lne OplfilpHS
expressed hy the special committee in their
letter 10 Horgan & Slattery.
And my opinion is. he added. that the
committee has correctly expressed the
iudgmentand feeling of the body Of artists
on this matter. II one man had been put
in charge Of the decoration of the building,
with special power to select corps of
artists, that would have been an entirely
different matter. We believe that the
best results from an artistic point of view
can only be obtained by the distribution Of
the contract among a number of different
,culptors. so that each one of them would
be enabled to stamp his work with his own
individuality. You must remember, this is
not a fight against Mr.. Martiny as n person
or as an artist. We would have taken the
same position no matter who had got the
contract under similar circumstances.
Mr.. Richard d. Anable, who was asso-
oated with John r. Thomas in planning
the Hall Of Records wrote to THE Sun yes
ferday 10 correct some Of the statements
made the day before by Martiny.
Mr. Anable first took exception to the
scnlptor's pronunciation OF his name,
which Mr.. Matiny remembered by means
~ the steps "anthropophage,. naneater,
cannibal, Hannibal" Mr.. Anable disclaims
AZ relationship with the Carthaginian gen
eru II" also begged TO straighten out the
implication that MIR. Martiny had ever
heen exclusively ain the mind" Of Mr..