Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-07-27
AN OTTvMWAN
REACHES FAME
AS A SCULP TOR
Continued From Pase ID

In Ottumwa. His mother was Char
lotte Lundberg, a school teacher III
another part of Sweden from the place
of the birth of the father and son. Her
father had been Judge. She died III
Ottumwa, December 8, 1903, ana IS
buried in the Ottumwa cemetery. "a
sister of the sculptor, Mrs. Ole Scos-
erson, lives in Minneapolis and II was
while living with his daughter in the
northern city that the father died
February 20, 1905, within two years
following the death of the mother,
alongside Of whom his remains rest IN
peace in the Ottumwa cemetery. Tne
building lot of which the sculptor
spoke in his interview with Heilig, is
located in Halberg's addition on the
south side not far from his boyhood
home which was on South Madison
avenue. The lot Is used by brother
Of his father, William q. Wifvat, who
with his wife and Mrs. Marie Aspiring,
q cousin Of David Edstrom reside at
i13 South Madison avenue. The YER
satility of his career as working boy
Included a time as bundle carrier and
general boy at the clothing store OF
J. B. Sax when the latter was located
On the north side Of Main street near
Green street corner.
Heilig's Story.
Sterling Heilig's story of David
Edstrom, contained In yesterdays Chi
icago Record Herald is complete as fol
lows:
None who meet the handsome,
frock-coated American in the present
London season will dream that he
worked in a slaughter-house.
Edstrom, in London, Rome and
Vienna, is the guest Of millionaire col
lectors. His exhibition at the Royal
Albert Hall is at this hour center OF
English aestheticism. His Clouds"
Cliffs" and Sirens according TO
Ellen Key, show "all the universe in
endless motion, falling, rising, burn
ing, cooling resting, yet in it's rest
moving still in other forms" To the
disabused American Hercules, they
might be the phantasms of conquered
surroundings, and he is his own
Caliban!
In Paris, where he shuts himself up
in st. Gaudens' beloved "seven rue
Belloni', to turn out, with diabolical
energy, new patches of the universe In
i motloH, uS lolu ho nA' iiASA S
career
The story was prepared once for an
American magazine; but Edstrom
made them burn the MS. as too full
of intimate personalities Of his later
life of European ease.
1t is the limit even for Americans
habituated to rising in the world; 1t Is
slow. iron-willed, bone-twisting self
- o1, fnr
unaided, from hopeless vulgarity to
sweetness and light.
''I was crap-shooting newsboy in
Ottumwa, Iowa, factory-town and rail-
way center" he tells simply. i
admired fashy crooks and brute poll
ticians. I had my first art sensation
from pictures in Kinsey Jordan's
saloon; and I was so small l had to
rise on my toes at Peggy Smiths dice
table,"
In Wretched Poverty.
Rising in life nearly ruined him. One
winter they had been so poor that
father, mother and boy had picked UP
frozen chickens in the alleys by night
to sell their feathers. Then he worked
up a good business with dime-novels
and story-papers among Ottumwa
factory girls, and Chicago papers and
contraband novelties in the bars.
81 was on the road to being vulgar
sport" he tells. 81 saw farmers
swindled, had the confidence Of crook
ed gamblers, the good will of grating
politicians. One thing only saved me
though l did not know it-watchine
human nature in the game, watching
the players"
A saloon keeper wanted to start hin
In business He could have bal
adorned with nudes and a productive
poker room upstairs. Fortune smiled
then ruined ALL A quarrel with hi:
railway news stand employer lost hin
his easy money. He was ashamed tt
show up in the old haunts-and fel
under the influence of Johannes
Scheiwe, philosopher and Landscape
painter.
81 had seen a charcoal drawing Q
Mary Anderson in shop window,
says Fdstrom Suddenly it strucl
me that If could do a face like that
it would be the greatest thing in tn
world I was lonely and undecide'
about the saloon proposition; so
tried to draw fancy head, not copy
l was only interested in the way i
was done. showed 1t to Johanne
Scheiwe."
This Johannes must have been a re
markable man. TRANQUILITY, w1thou
big words, he interested the ignoran
sporting youth In photographs OF oil
master paintings and the statues Q
the Greeks; told him outlines of worlc
history, lives of heroes; gave hlr
glimpses of the universe, of stars tina
are sums like our own, Of within
nebulae that become worlds,
comets that disappear forever; toll
him tales of romance, honor
Turning Point in His Life.
"He just poisoned my mind agains
the life around me- Edstrom puts, i
Vague ambitions awoke. He woul
learn trade, earn money to study al
abroad. He dropped all his old friend
and went into a sewing machine a
tachment factory at the age of
years They promised to make him
trained mechanic.
IL. CaI11 H.