New-York tribune., 1907-08-04

its own St Gaudens does the same thing. We
think first of Lincoln when seated In the stately
eNedra with which Stanford White partially en-
closed the statue. But Of the many thoughts
with which We leave the work is Of its originality.
Of the way IN which St. Gaudens has stamped his
own individuality upon the bronze. / come back
20 the question Of his style its polish that Is never
hard, its freedom that never passes into license.
In the treatment of the hopeIessy common ~ tlaco
costume in the statue, everything depended upon
an avoidance Of anything Ike self-assertion- Nheh
occasion requires It. ST Gaudens can pegNlIe US
with every touch that he hestows upon the clay
We a work Of his as a whole and yet hnger
with pleasure over this OF that passage. IN the
Lincoln the modelling IS so broad, Il is so sterling
an example Of the art Of generalization. thet no
single detail attracts the eye. This is the grand
style the ClasslCsts OF our old school falied 70
understand 1t. their lasting cost
What he could do with single figure he could
do with group. witness the fine composition
Of the shaw Memorial" and. even moro. the
mastery construction Of the sherman which
in design alone ranks one Of the strongest
things IN modern sculpture. The sherman
is indeed a triumph, for while II has all the
majestic qualities Of an heroic monument II IS
also "A work Of great dramatic power, express
ing martial movement with positively eiectrify
ing erarrz- This group registers the sculptor's
hf-hwatcr mark IN respect 70 complex piastc
design. as the Lincoln" shows his instinct for
character in its finest estate and the Two VIII
Doubtless he the most widely remembered Of all
his works Yet his masterpiece the statue IN
which he is most impTessIvely the imaginative
and creative artist IS the comparatively Iite
known Adams monument IN Rock Creek Gene
te--v. at Washington. or this the writer al
ready quoted says:
Tho single figure IN this monument sits en-
,-e1o-a5 i, heavy drapery n rough hewn BLOCK
cr eranit.. against a wall or tho same material
r4cr raca &c visible. the right hand IS raised %
s,r1-o~t the chin and sees the bare arm To t4t
elbow. but for the rest the form IS mutled 's III
I-carthIv garments u is "a mysterious, sphi"A-
Ike presence. strange and MASSIVE, Wlln
thing Of terror, but more of solemn dignity ana
beauty in its broad. simple lines. 7 have seen II
moro than once. under different conditions u y
IMPRESSIVE IN sunshine, confronting hAIpy iA'-.'
with its sorubre secret. But on 4 bleak winter
dav or IN rain. its mournful charm IS heightened
and here one reflects. far beyond the measure OF
any other of his compositions, St Gaudens Is the
poet the drarnatst. irtermingling with the con
crete Qualities OF plastic art the more elusive Qua
.tles q mind and soul And with what wondeffu!
s7lriety does he attain his end have thought
standing before this great work, Of certain notaoe
figures IN French sculpture have recalled p1
ho.s in OF his figures for the toIHo OF HeiIeI4
I.uorcle-e Rodin. IN divers OF his Herophantc
inlproyisatlons. and several remarked statues BY
colleagues Of theirs men on low. plane, but
sin eminent None cf these foreigner has IN my
opinion. ever modelled statue at once so simple
and So fun 0f meaning as this one at washington
Where Dubois would have made Il dignlhed noble
but academic to the point Of coldness ST GaudeH5
has clothed Il II air that IS charged with the
thrilling implications or the grave "here f9oiii
would have made Il speak OF movement "ouIu
have made II rugged and almost luridy eDica!, St
Cfalder.s has made the figure symbohcal OF rest
itself and has been tragic through intensity. not
through emphasis gesture. I remember how
many French statues have been spoiled by the
hint of the theatre introduced by some exaggera-
ton IN the expression Of the face or by some arb-
traTy arrangement Of the limbs; AID rejoice
anew in the determination with which st. Gaudens
has turned his back upon all meretrlcious expedi-
ents and given 10 this statue the bare majesty
Of q passage out Of Homer.
1t is TO the honor OF his contemporaries that
ST. Gaudens was always appreciated He was
the recipient OF many medals and similar tokens
OF public regard Degrees We're conferred upon
him by Harvard and Princeton. At Paris In 1900
ne was awarded the medal Of honor. and at
Buffalo. in the following year, a special medal
was bestowed upon him Some years earlier the
French government acquired his winged figure
the beautiful Angel with the Tablet" for the
Luxembourg and with it a considerable group
of his portrait medallions. As for commissions,
they were brought to him constantly that he
had to reject many, from sheer inability 10 find
the time necessary for their execution. His
studio was for years in New York, but he had
done much work at his Vermont home, and some
time ago he made It the scene OF all his labors
building additional studios and carrying on half
a dozen different works al a time. A long list
might be made Of the reefs, busts and statues
that he fingered IN the quiet of Aspect. as
his place Windsor is called. There he did the
monument TO P2rneu for Dublin, which was
completef not long since, there he worked on the
new Lincoln which he had undertaken, and
there in his busy lfe-sadly broken in upon by
the long Illness from which ne suffered-he
steadily continued TO make himself beloved Of
his pupils, assistants and friends.
He had a rare personality. Loyal, generous
modest TO the point Of shyness and with PEI
cuIiar gentleness of deIneanor. he a per-
feet type of the high minded man Of genius. No
one could have been more helpful than he was
to young artists OF talent No could have
been more sympathetic than he III the ap-
praisal of work by other men, An fnvincible
sense Of humor put the last touch 10 his winning
character To listen TO his Urassumng but
luminous talk on matters Of lifo art or lit
erature was a privilege To hear him when he
was in a drolI mood, and to see him sketchnE
some OF his iaimitable caricatures. both
privilege and Il joy. Most endearng of all was
he in the struggle that he made against sick
ness and pain. In that he revealed splendid
courage and cheerfulness. bearing his burden
q arueefneSS that those who knew and