The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-07-10
A GREAT GENIUS
STARVED FOR ART
Under, the Sculptor, Died
PenniIess, Despite
Talent.
WIDOW TELLS OF HARDSHIP
BROKE STATUES so THAT HE
COULD MODEL MORE.
WIDOW TELLS OF HARDSHIP

New York. July 9.-SuppOse that
you knew you were a genius. that al
though half clothed and half fed, you
willingly gave your life to your art;
that the greatest critics declared your
works TO be of the highest order, and
the public attended your exhibitions,
marve1ing audibly at the originality
and beauty Of your sculptured cOnceD-
tons. and that every year for twenty
four years you gave such an exhibition
without making a single sale-and
then found yourself dying, leaving
faithful wife penniless2
To you and to her, would not that
be the greatest OF life tragedies Yet
these tragedies are so common that
the world looks upon them as little
tragedies OF genius
She Made Her Own Clothes.
The foregoing epitomizes the life Of
Henry Under. the sculptor. who died
recently in his tiny cottage in the
suburbs Of Brooklyn. n. Y. When a
woman sitting in his little house near
Brooklyn speaks Of the tragedy her
eyes fall. She can tell you of her own
struggles without tear. but she cannot
speak OF those Of her husband with
out stopping to wipe them away.
we had no money" she said with
trembling lips. "but 1 would not dis
grace him by shabby clothes. I made
them myself Artists give receptions
sometimes. and we had to look well so
that no one might suspect our poverty.
Did Not Sell a Statue.
ooh, yes. he exhibited and exhibited.
| Twenty-fOur years and he gave one
every year. You wouldn't think IL.
would you. when you look at these
/ photographs? They are beautiful. I
| know It. I don't say so because / am
b II sTnrr -
/ ter Of a sculptor and I know. Look at
this-and this-and thisl And he new
er sold a single piece. No, not onci
How did we live2 I don't know.
| once in a while he made a private sale
or so-just enough to keep US from
| starving. We've lived-four of us-On
fifty cents a day.
Worked and Created Always.
MY husband was born in America
| but he studied I'm Lauterecken with
my father. Adam Book He went tC
Munich, too. and was under Professor
Knabel Of the academy. After that nc
was in Rome year. He was always
working and striving and created from
I the time he was II years old.
He had Just one public commission
I'm his life. and that was for two fig
ures and two groups for the st. Loui.
| exposition Of 1904. They represented
| OAAtAAAr ar ana ne WDIhtu ucl dNt
night on them. He was always work
ing; no man ever toiled harder. and
now his talent has Just been discov.
| cred.
Broke Statues for PlastOlinc.
People said he never did anythins
big" went on Mrs. Under. a passins
CLEAN Of resentment in her tired eyes
He never had enough money. he
broke up nearly all the things III
modelled to get plastoline to mode
more. Plastoline Is exDensive: W,
could afford but. little. oh. Luise.
he would say some days, If I only hat
little mOre-iust a little more: tn,
ideas come so fast-and then he'S
break up one Of his loveliest image
to get the plastoline to model another
And yet in spite Of unceasing pri
vatiOnS. he told n fellow member
year ago that II he could live his If
over again he would endure Il for tn,
pleasure his art had brought him
There spoke the true artist. and N
artist Henry Under was to the full"