The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-08-01
THB LATE JOHN ROGERS.
His Famous Work as Popular sculp

His Famous Work as a Popular sculp- tor.
 Concerning the noted John Rogers, a short account of whose career was giv-
 en in our issue of Thursday, the New
 York Evening Post says:
 Johs Rogers, who died at his summer
 home in New Canaan, Conn.,, yesterday, after a prolonged decline, was one of
 the most popular sculptors of his day, although he may not have been acc
 cousted among the greatest. Moreover,
 he was thoroughly American, and his
 groups, which are to be found eyery-
 where, are Full of appeal to national sentiment, both patriotic and domestic.
 He was born in Salem, Mass, on Octo-
 Der 30, 1929, and was educated in the
 Bostos public schools. His career as a sculptor dates from the day when as a boy he tursed one day into side street
 in Old Boston, where man was model ling some simple figures in clay. He
 had just found out after starting upon
 an esergetic course of mechanical en-
 gineering that his eyes were giving out asd was consequently heavy of heart. But as he looked at the worker is clay the thought came to him that here was
 something he also might do, and 1t was
 an inspiration. Not losg after he got
 possessios of some clay, cut a stick into the shape of tool and produced some work that delighted his family.
 Then he went to work with all serious
 ness.
 About 1859 he left Salem for Chicago. where he made the first public exhibit iof his statuettes, Checkers and the Village Schoolmaster, in 1869. The suc- cess attending these first essays soon 1 led him to undertake 'The Slave Auc- tion,' and the popular war subjects is- sued between the years 1861 and 1870.
 Prominent among these were The Slaves Story" with it's portraits of Whittier, Garrison and Beecher; the l"Counci1 of War; showing President Lincoln seated and holding before him Ia map, Secretary stanton standing be- hind his chair listening to Gen. Grant, and the statues of Lincoln and Henry Ward Beecher. One of his best war scenes, according to his own judgment. 1 is known as Taking the Oath.' This represents young woman with child presumably the widow and child of a
 Confederate soldier, standing by the side of Union officer, who. with cap 1 in hand and a look of kindness in his strong face, administers the oath of al- | legiance, while a typical half-clad ne- gro boy looks on Another favorite of the sculptor was the group which rep resents the first steps in the direction of educating the southern negroes,
 known as Uncle Ned's School.' The returned volunteer telling the village
 blacksmith his adventures Is another of the war groups which needed no expla- nation when 1t was sent from the arr tist's workshop. It shows soldier who has built fortifcation with some of the blacksmith's tools and also an op- posing battery with horseshoe and some nails, and the old blacksmith, with a heavy hammer in one hand and
 fondling the hand of a tiny child with the other, hears the story of how the fort was taken
 Perhaps the finest and cornpletest collection of the works of the sculptor lis to be found in the rooms of the Art association at Manchester, N. H. It conveys a striking impression of the
 executive facility of the artist, his yer lsatility, his minute observation, his hu- lmor, pathos and patriotism.
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