New-York tribune., 1906-07-15
AN ARTISTIC OUTRAGE.

The architect Of the new Capitol at Harrisburg
seems to have played a scurvy trick on the people
of Pennsylvania. The massive bronze doors at
the main entrance, Of the building portray in
panels notable scenes and events in Pennsyl
vana history. In the borders of the panelling
are cut four rows of portrait busts-twenty in
all-which in any rational scheme should sup
plement the panels in historical value and sug
gestiveness. But now that the doors are COM
pleted and set in place Pennsylvanians
scandalized to find that the architect has selected
for cOmmemOratiOn personalities which, almost
without exception, it would be grotesQue to con-
slider significant or representative. OF the
twenty heads reproduced. the three best known
are those of Senators Quay and PenrOse and
Governor Pennypacker. OF the seventeen other
subjects five are members Of the State Capitol
Commission, one is the architect, Joseph NJ. Hus-
ton, himself; one Senator W. A. Clark. Of Mon
tana one Henry Bonnard, owner of the bronze
foundry which cast the doors, and the rest either
absolute nobodies connected with the construc-
tiOn of the Capitol or cheap Pennsylvania poll
ticlans Of doubtful character or transient nOtO-
riety. One of the last group Of immOrtals is
Israel Durham. the Philadelphia eX-bOss, whO
after the uprising in the Quaker City last year,
found it advisable to retire to a secluded Cali
fOrnia 'health resort"
1t is all well enough for an artist to have a
sense Of humOr. Caricature has its place, and
satire may be sometimes effective in tightening
the most serious conceptions But jokes go out
of date very rapidly and should not be made in
material as lasting as bronze If the architect
needed heads to flank his panels he could have
chosen as subjects the makers Of Pennsylvania
as a colony and a state, her statesmen, her
soldiers, her leaders in science, art and culture
Even Of Governors, Senators or Representatives
in Congress twenty suitably representative fig
ures could easily have been chosen. But of the
grotesque selection actually made 1t can only
be said that perhaps some new HOrgan & Slat
terry combination might OutdO it by designing q
monumental entrance for one Of our own state
buildings and plastering it thick with the eff
gies OF statesmen like Pat McCarren, Murphy
and the Sullivans, big Tim," Little Tim and
Florrie.
Ex-Governor William A. Stone n member of
the Capitol Commission, was surprised to find
that he had been drafted to hang in the Harris
burg gallery of fame. He declares that the
architect acted without his knowledge or consent
in thus immortalizng him and his four associ-
ates on the construction board and he announces
that he will oppose the acceptance of the build
ing unless the collection is removed. Il will not
stand for having my face there in bronze" he
says 'if have to go to the Capitol myself and
file it Off" We think this spirit will actuate the
people OF Pennsylvania as a whole when they
get little further light on the motives behind
this gross affront to artistic prOpriety and his
torical judgment. With SO long a list OF real
worthless to draw on, the selections made for
commemOration were prompted either by sheer
presumption or execrable taste