Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-18

/, ton as a memorial to the late Senator
| Macmillan Is primarily beautiful as a
composition regarded In the mass. II
| consists of two basins, the smaller above
| the larger; with the latter surmounted
| by a group of three figures unfolding yet
a third cuplike bowl. Thus the whole
builds up In pyramidal form and IN out
4 line gives the effect Of unity and SIM
| plicity. Examined more closely it Is
| found that the detail Is no less pleasing
| than the broad impression. Each pro-
portion has been carefully adjusted, and
| each detail finely designed and wrought
The GROWING feature: is, of course, the
group Of three figures-the three races
| or the three seasons, as one may wish 10
] call them. All are nude, but chaste and
| beautiful, as are the statues of ancient
| Greece One Is a maiden, the next is
more mature, the third is a woman who
has more than crossed the threshold of
youth. She carries as her emblem fruit,
her sister to her left bears flowers. To-
gether the three form single column,
| the support of a vase. They are used
as an element In design. INTELLECTUALLY,
yet gracefully and naturally LIZ is said
| sometimes that architectural figures are
as a rule dead hgures," stiff and awk-
| ward, but here are architectural figures
| full of living grace. 1t is the beauty of
/ line and mass that the sculptor has seen
and manifested, and he has thereby pro-
| duced a work Of permanent significance
| and beauty.
| 1t should be noted also that in this
| fountain the water has been reckoned as
| chief factor in the design, that the
| basins and the flow of water have been
made the first consideration. Too often.
| even in the designing of fountains, this
| Is not so. We have fountains over
weighted with ornaments, overcrowded
with figures, which have little or no re-
| lation to the water at all. The charm of
| a fountain is its flow of water, and this
the Italians for many generations have
understood.
The fountains of Rome are the delight
of all who reside or visit there. and the
same is equally true OF many OF the
! italian towns. But We have overlooked
| this possibility. Washington of all cities
| should abound in fountains Our public
parks afford an ideal setting and our
climate would permit their almost con-
| slant use. Nothing could be more orna-
mental or In the way of public art give
more pleasure. The Macmillan fountain
is, therefore. doubly valuable, constitut-
ing in itself a worthy memorial and serv-
ing as a standard for future time.
X
THERE is probably no city in the coun-
try wherein the history OF American
sculpture can be so well studied at first
hand as in Washington. Here we have,
as one of the first sculptors himself put
1t. ''the initial struggle of an infant art"
The earliest sculptors of America ex-
/, ecuted great commissions, great for their
day, at least. for the government-statues
to ornament the Capitol. to commemorate
military heroes and legislators of whom
their states were proud. Some, to be
sure, are very bad, but many more are
good than Is often supposed. For so long
Iii has been the custom to laugh with
scoru at many of the statues IN Wash
Ington that 1t is rather refreshing and
inspiriting to find that In the midst of
the mediocre some exceptionally good
works have crept in, like the great
Adams memorial by Saint-Gaudens the
Callaudet memorial by French, now the
Macmillan memorial. and that now peo-
nile from out of town are turning TO
Washington with interest and admiration.
In an open letter urging better criti-