New-York tribune., 1907-12-20
4 Monograph on the Late augustus
st. Gaudens and His Work.

AUGUSTUS SAINT -GAUDENs. BY Royal Cortis-
soz Illustrated. Alto. PIP. &C. Houghton.
Mif1;n & Co
Nest men who break new paths show more
y, 5vnarnic quality in their makeup. and more
600 Of the dramatic sense in what they do. than
,,,are evinoed in the lovable personality OF Au-
eustus ST Gaudens. whose recent death was so
rositive and distinct a Joss to the worl6 of
elastic art Yet Mr.. Cortlssoz. in the beautiful
volume which he has devoted to the life and
rpo-g of this distinguished man, rightly pro-
claims him a pioneer Of American sculpture
G. Gaudens was a pioneer in the sense that
before he put forth the first of his public mon
urnents there was very little sculpture in this
country that deserved 10 be taken seriously as
sculpture It less his active leadership.
however, than his example. that brought St.
Gaudens quickly to the front as a guide and
beacon Of progress in what had come to be al
most dead art here, When his Farragut
statue appeared it was the signal for general
reappraisal of existing bronze and stone memo
rials Of famous men Some portion of the Amer
ican public came TO realize that portrait sculpt-
ure need not be merely initiative and photo
graphic but that it could present great person
sees in fresh, strong. vital way, remaining
faithful not 10 trivial detail but to the larger
snd truer aspects of the subject The public
found too that such sculpture could be genu-
tnely moving and interesting, and since then it
IS beyond question that there has been a more
exacting standard set for many a new monu-
rnent IN America
Pioneer as he was, in this sense, it is rather
fer the innate qualities Of his art that st.
Gaudens viii be remembered. In his estimate
of the sculptor's rich legacy to the world Mr.
Ccrtissoz recognizes in his art always some,
thing grave and pure and fine" This was the
real man. and these characteristics. one may
assert would have been traceable in st. Gau-
dens's work matter when or where he had
lived. what predecessors he had had. You
feel these elements predominating in the Far
ragut, however resolute and stern the sculptor
sought 10 make him in his portrait. Pre-
eulinently do the same underlying qualities
shine out Of the noble Lincoln, in Chicago. and
one perceives them as at least the foundation
Of the superb Sherman. in which the artists
orbit approached nearest to the heroic. st.
Gaudens static. not dynamic. His achieve
rnents tell the beholder of deep and serene
thought, transformed through work ideally hon
est and conscientious into eloquent art The
sculptor seems always to have had full control
Of his creative force. but If he had let it carry
him faster and further his work would perhaps
have exerted an influence even more seizng and
potent With these as his ruling characteristics
1t is easy. TO see why ST. Gaudens devoted him
self chiefly TO portraiture His was nature
judicial enough TO isolate the salient and the
essential elements in his subjects and to sum
them up so that every factor counted justly
IN the total Of his sculptural representation
And, as Mr.. Cortissoz points out he was able
to realize not only portrait, but a type, in