The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-08-05
THE DEATH OF
ST. GAUDENS
Americas Leading Sculptor
Passes Away
i'll FOR A LONG TIME
The End Came at His Home at Cornish,
N. H. Saturday Death Was
Due to General Breaking
Down.
i'll FOR A LONG TIME

Cornish, n H., Aug. 5.--Augustus St.
Gaudens, the sculptor, died at his home
in this place at $50 Saturday evening,
after a long illness. Death was due in
part to form Of nervous dyspepsia with
which he had long been troubled. Last
year Mr.. st. Gaudens was operated upon
for minor trouble, and although he was
temporarily relieved, he continued in poor
health. During the past month his de-
cline had been rapid. Until the first
part Of July he visited his studio nearly
every day, but as he grew weaker he
had TO be assisted to his work. Since
the middle OF July he was obliged TO
remain in bed, Wednesday night his
condition was such that ii was feared
he would not live until morning. He raj
he'd, however, but continued In a weak
state. For two days before his death he
was unconscious the greater part Of the
time, and his physician saw that it was
but a question OF hours before the end.
If Diana of the Tower should some
day point her arrow halfway downward,
It would be aimed to the spot on Twenty.
third street in New York where her ere.
ator, Augustus st. Gaudens, spent 20
years Of his early life, and where he re-
ceived the inspiration that was to make
him at his death Americas foremost
sculptor. Born in Dublin, Ire, March i,
lS4S, Of French father and an Irish
mother, st. Gaudens was brought to this
country and to New York when six
months old. At 10 he began a life Of
labor, always in the field OF art, as a
cameo cutter In his apprenticeship Of
three years TO a New York lapidary, the
lad made such progress that ii became
evident in what path his native talents
lay. He was given such schooling as
his father, small shoe dealer on Fourth
avenue, could afford, but he supplemented
his practice in the cameo shop by tax.
ing night courses in the art school at
Cooper Union.
Earnest labor and economy on his
part and help by his father landed him
in Paris in 1867, and there it became
apparent to the young man that his life
work must be that of sculptor rather
than cameo worker. He began modelling
az the Ecole des Beaux Arts under Fran
els Jouffroy, and after three years Of con
slant application went to Rome, where
his first statue, that OF Hiawatha, was
created and the foundation of his fame
was laid. 1t wac Montgomery Gibbs Of
New York who first disclosed the talents
of st. Gaudens TO the world when he
brought back from Rome a plaster cast
of Hiawtha, and soon after permitted
Gov. +. D. Morgan to have it perpetuated
in marble.
Returning TO this country in 1872, St.
Gaudens almost Immediately received a
commission for a portrait bust Of Will
liam NJ Evarts, then acting as a member
of the Geneva award commission This
attracted wide notice Orders followed
plentifully, and from that time until his
death St. Gaudens' fame increased with
the unwilling OF every work The mas.
ter hand and mind is best seen, artists
declare, in the Lincoln statue in Chicago,
the Farragut, sherman and Cooper fig
ures in New York, that Of the Garfield
in Philadelphia, the Puritan" in this
city and in the inspiring Shaw memorial
in Boston These are generally held 10
she'd the best light on the fame of St.
Gaudens, but the figure Of Grief in the
Rock Creek cemetery at Washington, the
equestrian statute Of Logan in Chicago,
the figures on the facade Of the Boston
public library, and Diana on the Madison
Square garden tower are always called
TO mind as sharing in the glory shed by
the masterpieces. "The Puritan was
placed in It's original location in Stearns
park in this city in 1887, the same year
that the Lincoln statue was unveiled in
Chicago
st. Gaudens gave up life in New York
about 1888, but more than 10 years after
he established a residence in Cornish, n.
IT,, and built himself home among the
Connecticut liver hills. There on June
%, 1905. his friends produced a sylvan
masque in his honor and at the conelu-
sion the entire company on the stage
swept down into the audience and sur.
rounding the master, presented him with
a golden bowl The October before a
fire had destroyed many of his efforts,
including the models Of statues Of Charlie
Stewart Parnel for his native city, and
Marcus a. DAILY, the Montana mine own
or, but the work was taken up again
with new ygor aud both finally com
pleted
In his life in Cornish ST Gaudeus drew
around him many friends Of artistic and
literary repute and his beautiful home,
aspect" with his numerous little stu
dos, has for many years been the Mecca
Of the world Of sculpture in America.
And that ii should be there that the
hand which touched the clay and the
marble into life became still, was the
wish Of st. Gaudens.