The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1921-03-22
ARTISTS TESTIFY
RUMSEY'S PAGAN
IS SNOTLEWD' NUDE
Lawsuit to Force Exhibi-
tion Of Statue Is Begun as
Opponents Capitulate.
EXPERTS STOOD 4 TO 3
Mrs. Harriman's Son i'll :
Law. Off to England to
Play Polo, Is Vindicated.
ORIGINAL RUINED In FIRE
MacMonnies, Sculptor Of 'Bac-
chante,' Among Admirers of
undrapcd Storm Cen tire.
ORIGINAL RUINED In FIRE


As he boards ship for England this
morning TO play for America in the
international polo matches Charles
Cary Rumsey, sculptor and son-in-
law of Mrs. +. II. Hartman. will have
the satisfaction of knowing that his
statue "The Pagan" is not going to
be elected from the Metropolitan
Museum of Art into q world still
chilly toward a lady in the state OF
nature.
4 jury Of the Architectural League
had excluded Mr.. Runsey's Pagan"
It had, he reports, termed it lewd and
obscene. Yesterday morning he started
an injunction suit in the Supreme
Court 10 compel its retention in the
annual exhibition of the league, which
opens in the Metropolitan Museum on
April I. He got n temporary order
from Justice Newburger. Several of
his artist friends declared their inten-
ton OF carrying on his fight for him.
But the fight il. OF The statue will
stay. In the afternoon James Monroe
Hewlett, president Of the league, an
nounced that the rejection had been ef-
fected through error. Mr.. Hewlett and
the executive committee Of the league
have overruled the committee on scuip-
ture, or rather they have shown that
committee that it had no right TO cast
out Mr. Rumsey's masterpiece.
II seems there was an agreement that
all Eorks of art accepted for last years
exhibition and still available should be
accepted for this years. for the reason
that the show of 1920 was ruined by
fire that destroyed the Vanderbilt Gal
lery of the Federation OF Fine Arts
Building. A majority OF the committee
on sculpture which recently decided TO
exile "The Pagan acted IN ignorance OF
this understanding.
Anguish Fails as InHucrt~.
Last Saturday the executive commit
tee decided that tho statue should stay.
no matter what anguish might result.
letter to that effect was posted to Mr..
Rumsey.
Mr.. Rumsey's fellow sculptors arc d.
vided in their opinions of his nude. The
majority of the committee which tried
to suppress her is made up OF Herbert
Adams. Ulrich II. Ellerhausen, Frank
Lyon jenkins and Leo Feutelli. The
dissenting minority are John Gregory.
chairman Of the committee Robert Ait
ken and Attilio Piccirilli
I'm sorry the committee can't stand
on the action il took" AIR. Adams sa.d
last night I'm the view Of the ma jority
the statue IS undesira bic for our exhibit
tion. ] do not recall that II was de-
scribed as obscene. | think the word
gross better Expresses it. But as II
turns out that The Pagan should not
have been put before this years jury
at all there will be no more trouble
about II. I'm sorry that Rumsey took
the matter into court. That was un-
necessary. The decision that the statue
should stay was reached before there
was any talk of q lawsuit"
The Architectural League and all of
the committee on sculpture are made de-
PENDANTS In the suit. which William H.
smith. Jr, a lawyer Of go Liberty
street. started in behalf OF Mr.. Rumscy
Mr.. Rumsey's complaint says that ho has
practised art for twenty ycars. has sew
eral statues on loan exhibition at the
Metropolitan Museum and has executed
such works as the Brownsville Soldiers
and Sailors Monument. "The Buffalo
Hunt" at the entrance OF Manhattan
Bridge. and "Pzsaro" at tho Panama
Pacific Exposition. His Pagan was
destroyed in last years fire.
Rumscy Hears OF the Threats.
Last autumn Mr.. Gregory invited him
TO reexhibit II this year. Working from
the small original model, he made n
figure of heroic size and sent Il 70 the
Metropolitan. But on March i2 a men,
Der Of the committee told him Of the
threat to exclude Il. Mr.. Rumsey swore
that he would suffer rreparable injury
because Of "tha notoriety attached 20
having the said statue excluded on the
ground that IL was q lewd statue. when.
IN fact. said statue Is not lewd. but On
the contrary, Is sincere artistic con-
ception."
lie said in m affidavit that he carved
the original statue after his return III
1919 from tho war. in which b. was q
captain of engineers ga tho Seventy
seventh Division. lie said he told Mr..
Gregory last autumn, when invited ~
exhibit Il this year, that he would not
care to do 30 unless Mr.. Grcgory's ac-
ccptance was conclusive. MIR. Gregory
assured him that such was the fact.
Six sculptors add their affdayits 10
that OF Mr.. Rumsey. They are Fred
erck W. MacMonnies whose "Bac-
chante" disturbed Boston, but now "a
one Of the first things one sees as he
enters the metropolitan Museum Of Art
Ernest Keyser. Louis st. lame. viii
lam De Leftvich Dodge. Henry Bcau-
mont Herts and Paul Manshlp They
agree that Mr.. Rumscy as a sculptor is
all he ought to be- that "The Pagan" rs
a meritorious work Of exceptional merit.