The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-05-06
Commission Awards the Contract to
Two Eastern Artists.
One Picture Is to Be That of Treaty Of
Traverse Des Sioux.
Another Will Be Hennepin Discovering
St. Anthony Falls.
John De laittre Presents the State
With Marble Seals.
From Wednesdays Daily.

From Wednesdays Daily.
The state capitol commission yester-
day awarded a contract for two oil
paintings, to be placed in the governors
reception room in the new capitol, to the
well known Eastern artists, F. d. Millet
and Douglas Volk
The two pictures, one to be entitled
"The Traverse of DIES Sioux" and the
other, "Father Hennepin Discovering the
falls of st. Anthony" will be about six
feet high by ten feet long, and will be
placed at the east and west ends of the
governors reception room. Millet will
paint the first named picture, for which
he will receive $4,000. Volk will receive
$1,000 for his painting. The difference in
price is caused by the fact that in Mil
let's picture number of figures will be
used, entailing considerable portraiture,
while Volk's picture will be mostly land
scape, with few figures in the fore
ground
Both men are artists of note, Mr.. Volk
being especially well known in the north
west. For some time he was director
of the art school in Minneapolis, and is
now professor in the Cooper Union of
New York. One of his pictures is hung
in the Vanderbilt art gallery. His paint
ing will be finished by Jan. /, but the
date of the completion of Mr.. Millet's
picture is uncertain.
Commissioner John De Laittre of Min
neapolis presented the state, through the
commission with two white Carara
marble seats, twelve feet long, of uni
que design and antique workmanship,
which had been imported from Italy and
which he had secured in New York. The
seats are to be placed at some convenient
point in the new capitol to be designated
by the commission.
Separate specifications for rotunda
chandelier were ordered prepared by Ar
chitect Cass Gilbert and the construction
of the same to be advertised for. The
chandelier is to be sphere, six feet in
diameter, constructed of French cut
glass prisms and containing eighty two
eight-candle power electric lights. The
frame of the glass is to be constructed of
silver plated steel and the entire globe
will be suspended from the center of the
dome by chain twenty eight feet long.
The light will be placed so as to make it
possible to lower or heighten it. When
Illuminated at night, the globe will give
the effect of an irridescent sun, shining
far above the heads of the people on
the lower floors. The light will be sus-
pended ITO feet from the floor
Bids for electric fixtures will be opened
July 5 so as to give bidders time to con-
struct samples and prepare designs.
Cass Gilbert, whose trip to Europe was
twice delayed by the serious illness of
his daughter, Elizabeth, has given up the
idea and will spend his vacation in this
country. In a letter addressed to the
commission he stated that he thought
that the house chamber in the capitol
would be ready for occupancy within
few weeks, and that the entire building
would be ready for occupancy before the
end of the year.
Plans were discussed in The matter of
having oil paintings of small size pre-
pared to hang about on the walls of the
building, showing the first state capitol
of Minnesota, one of the first river
steamers, Red river cart, the old Sib-
ley residence at Mendoza, which was
originally intended to be the capitol,
and other views of historic interest.
Chairman Claiming Seabury will at
tempt to secure all the old dauguerro-
types and cuts possible to make selec-
ton for the subjects.
Vouchers to the amount of $96,55I.12
were approved.
After a prolonged discussion, it was
decided that nothing in the way of con-
structing approaches to the capitol would
be attempted this year and that, beyond
clearing the grounds of debris, no at
tempt would be made to beautify the
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