The sun., 1919-09-07

centrated upon the mantel itself, the
overmantel space being devoid of any
architectural establishment and left
completely free for a mirror, picture
or any other sort Of movable decora-
ton to be placed there.
The elegances of wood carving were
never nearly so fully displayed On the
outside of buildings as they were in
side, although there are instances,
some of them dating from early in the
eighteenth century, in which choice
bits were employed to grace certain
exterior points of emphasis. Such an
example as the carving on the door
trim of the Governor Drummer house
at Byf1eld, Mass, might well serve as
stimulus to provoke emulation at
the present day. There were also in
other places, notably in Annapolis
| and in various old houses elsewhere
in Maryland, richly carved outside
| door frames that were executed a
little before or about the middle of the
century. Then, too. there were the
| urns with mantling drapery swags and
flame tops that were placed as finals
ON corners and upon parapets Of
|
classic dignity; likewise the tops of
| exterior pillars and pilasters that were
| not infrequently wrought with pune
| tilious care. And there We're also the
Mosques that sometimes adorned the
| lintels over windows OF gazed from
| the woodwork of church towers.
| These Mosques were near akin to the
work executed by the carvers Of
| fgureheads for ships. And this brings
us to third phase OF our subject
carving that was not architeoturally
nor structurally attached.
| Mr.. Walter Dyer has very properly
| pointed out that the skill displayed by
many Of the Colonial carpenters and
wood carvers was not seldom acquired
through training they had received in
shipyards, where fine carving and
accurately fitted and proportioned work
was always in demand The old fig
ureheads, which were deservedly a
source Of pride TO shipbuilders, ship
owners and crews, are surely entitled
to their full share Of our consideration
as important decorative items of ma
rine architecture and potent factors
Of influence in developing the skill of
carvers, who thus became more apt in
embellishing the Iexteriors and inte-
riors of houses when occasion required
their services in that direction.
William Rush, one OF our early
| American carvers whose name de-
serves to be far better known than il
generally is, won the greatest part of
his reputation through his prowess in
designing and carving fgureheads.
Born in Philadelphia in 1856, he was
apprenticed while a mere lad to Ed
, ward Cutbush, a carver, and developed
such remarkable aptitude that II was
not long before he was rewarded by
a large and lucrative business in the
designing Of figureheads for ships.
| Notable among them were those for
the United States frigates United
States and Constitution, representing
respectively The Genius of the United
States and Nature. His figure of
the Indian Trader on the ship Will
lam Penn was copied by several Lon
don artists, who made casts and
sketches of the head. while his River
God for the ship Ganges is said to
have been reverenced by the Hindus,
| who came in boatloads to see it.
In such time as he could snatch
from his occupation as a carver of
tgureheads he executed a creditable
number of other pieces of sculpture.
OF these perhaps the best known is
the figure of Washington, which now
stands in the State House in Phila-
delphia. Rush was one Of the founders
Of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts and some of his other works,
every one of which possesses very
considerable merit, are preserved
| there. His performances are all in
wood and clay
Another of our early sculptors who,
like Rush, was wholly self-developed
and worked into the sculpture OF fig-
ures in the round from his previous
experience as a wood carver, was
Hezekiah Augur. born in New Haven
in 1871, His bust of Chief Justice
Ellsworth is in the United States Su-
! preme Court room in Washington and
Jephthah and His Daughter are pre-
| served in the Yale Art School.
And here we bark back once more
to Samuel McIntire of Salem McIn-
tire. the junior of Rush by one year,
likewise essayed sculpture and exc
| cuted several very creditable bustS and
reliefs in wood. In this list his Wash
ington medallion and the bust of Gov.
Winthrop are particularly noteworthy.
But architectural Woodworking was
distinctly his meter and upcn that h.s
fame will always rest. although his
sculpture will entitle him to be reck-
oned in tho roll OF early American
sculptors.
THE exterior woodwork of McIn-
tires houses in many instances-a
great deal more so than the other
houses of the period ordinarily did
shows considerable amount of
charmingly conceived and delicately
executed carved detail. Many Of his
| gateposts especially deserve notice ms