The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-01-26
WORLD FAMOUS PICTURE.
Turned Out by Cleveland Carriage
Painter in Spirit of Jest.

Cleveland, O.-More than thirty years
ago a Cleveland carriage painter, un-
der the influence of an inspiration
the kind of inspiration which he says
comes 10 every man once in a lifetime
painted a great picture. The critics
denied that it was great picture.
They pointed to mistakes in it, to mac
curacies.
But the people like the picture on
/ account of its spirit and il has been
for a generation perhaps the most pop
ular picture in the cOuntry-''The Spirit
Of "a"
| The painter. Archibald NJ Willard.
still lives in Cleveland. He has paint
ed many other pictures-he ceased to be
a carriage painter after the success Of
his first work. If the world has re
elected him it has not forgotten his
picture.
Willard had Just come to Cleveland
from Wellington, o. He had a knack
for painting scenes. These were litho-
graphed and sold. His work made d
living for himself and his family
Wanted a Comic,
friend saw an opportunity for him.
! Paint a Fourth of July picture. Make
it funny Wen exhibit it at the Cen
tennial 1t viii be a good advertisement
for chromos from it"
| So Willard went to work. His studio
i'm the city hall was not adapted to a
! big canvas He asked an artist friend
for room in his studio and got consent.
The artist friend was one who fol-
lowed an ideal He looked at Wizards
preliminary sketches contemporary.
| 1t was to be a comic, a burlesque, a
| chrome.
| The crayons resolved themselves into
a canvas. Three figures there were-a
boy. a youth, an old mantle fife and
IL Ill
man tossed drumsticks in air, capering
like a fawn. one finds the youth today
in the villages-the corner lOafer. The
boy was better; he did not prance so
madly as did the old man. The picture,
however. failed to be funny.
But from the burlesque painting
sprang the sublimest inspiration OF
WIZARDS life He would paint three
more figures. They would resemble the
village clowns. But they would not be
funny Instead they would portray the
spirit of &c. that burned in the artists
veins for expression.
| Willard needed mOdelS-a youth, q
man of middle age and an old man. He
found the boy in Harry Devereux, then
! a student in the Brooks Military acad-
emv. He thought for f1feT. Hugh
MOsher of wellington, veteran of two
wars-he was the man. There was no
hesitation about the third model That
figure was to be an Old man, sleeves
rolled up as if he had just left his
blowing, face rigid as one who sees
death ahead, but fears it not Who
could be the original of this figure but
Wizards father. the austere Baptist
parson, whom the artist loved and re-
spected above all men.
| Willard obtained his preliminary
sketches of Mosher and young Dever-
eux. The lad entered into the spirit or
the painting. Mosher shrilled his fife
| as if it were a divine duty. The elder
Willard, however, was sick in bed. The
artist, though, could paint that face
/ and figure from memory
So the painter began his work. The
other artist turned from his ask oc-
Ecasionally with curiosity-then interest.
Word came that the elder Willard was
seriously iii. The artist son could not
leave his work. Every moment OF day
light found him at the easel. His nights
he spent at his fathers bedside.
He took the three figures and gave
them drums and a fife. He placed
them at the head of a shattered file Of
ragged colonial troops. He cast about
them the smoke of battle. The lad
watched the old man with parted lips
and beat his drum in unison.
The ffer in peaceful times might have
been a village humOrist, joking and gos-
lSlDl0R at some CEOSSTOduS lAltl AsOW liz
! spirit of &c was in him. With farsee-
ing eyes he flied above the din. Meth
er he nor the lad was aware of the dam
ger. nor cared. The old man stared at
il defiantly, but did not swerve, striding
ahead. His white hair was wind-tossed-
Back in the gloom a flag famed the
smoke. A soldier shouted courage.
: Hailed as a Masterpiece.
| Wizards father was close to death
The work was nearly done. A dying
: man beside wrecked cannon had final
strength to wave his cap The other
artist was enthusiastic. A touch OF
color here and there
1t is genius, masters work
1t was the spirit of 76. born Of pig
ments, love Of country, thrilling on can
vas.
The elder Willard was dead.
Soon they took the painting to the
Centennial exhibition at Philadelphia
Universal appreciation made Willard IA
NOUS Mosher visited the exhibition.
He was recognized as the fifer Of yam
kee Doodle" His visit was a continuous
, ovation General DeveTeux bought the
painting and gave it TO the town OF
Marblehead, Mass. 1t is priceless now.
= All this hubbub attracted the atten-
, ton of critics. They examined Yankee
Doodle" They disapproved. The COM
position was mediocre, measured Dy any
rule of art Technique was poor-it
was too accurate to be artistic. The
; treatment of the theme
But here they had to stop. for the
: uneducated people. who are nothing for
/ points of composition, took the picture
! into their lives, and so later. when
war came, the picture was flashed on
, white screens. Careless young fellows
: looked at it, and went smiling to bat
! tie. The thought of il kept the culver
from mothers farewell kisses