The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-04-14
''1THlE SPIRIT OF '7@"

1 copy of 1t and to allow him to have pho-
 ginning of an association between them
 which lasted many years. The first half
 of the picture represented the pursuit
 or a rabbit by a dog which is hitched
 to cart and driven by boy. The sec ond half showed the capture of the rab- l bit, the wreck of the cart and the pluck of the boy who still holds to the reins.
 The picture had large circulation. | In 1874 Mr Willard opened a studio in
 Cleveland where, between painting por-
 traits and landscapes, he produced sev-
 eral serio-comic pictures for publication
 as chromos.
 l MT. Willard and Mr. Ryder were anxious to push on to greater success and
 the centennial year gave them the op- portunity. A humorous picture with the I title Yankee Doodle was to be their contribution. Willard obtained his models and made sketch after sketch of fifer
 and two drummers, but he could not suc- l ceed in producing one to his satisfaction.
 He remembered seeing the old-time drum I of the militia, who occasionally imbibed
 little too much of the spirit of rum with the spirit of '76, so that with the
 effort to preserve the proper martial bearing their appearance often suggested
 more or less of the grotesque
 1 The picture was begun anew, MT. Will
 lard's father posing for the old drummer. ! lot
 came very i'll. It was known that he
 could not live. To think of him in con
 nection with comic picture now was inn i possible for the artist. He was seized with a sudden inspiration. He decided 1 to paint a noble, realistic picture instead. Hugh Mosher, an old veteran of the
 civil war, posed as the .fifer and Harry | Devereaux, Gen. John Devereaux's son, a fine, manly lad then, was the young drummer. The old drummer was Will lards memory of his father, with all his courage and dignity. When finished pho- | tographs were made and sent to the cen
 tennial where they sold like hot cakes.
 One day letter came requesting that
 the original be sent to the exposition. HereA indeed, was triumph!
 | From Philadelphia the painting was fsent to Boston for exhibition Those in
 charge requested to be allowed to add to | the title, which then was Yankee Doo-
 dle," the subtitle, ''The Spirit of '76.' Another spirited painting by Mir. Wil-t lard is entitled "The Minute Men" This picture shows the father of the family starting out for war in obedience to the summons of the courier and the grand father being blocked by the little girl in his attempt to follow him.
 1 With the American revolution the ar- tist has in single picture linked up
 two of our later wars-the civil war and
 that with Spain. The painting is called l "The Charge at San Juan," and repre- sents veterans of the civil war in sol- l diers' home reading the newspaper ac-
 counts of the charge of the American sol diers up the hill.
 1 Some of MT. Wilards first sketches were made while he was soldier in the 1 civil war. They were pictures of camp l life and some were made of the Morgan
 raid through Ohio and published in Har- per's Weekly. Their rugged simplicity
 sent out the deep appeal he intended. As MT. Willard says: "They helped the
 folks at home to understand the war"