The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-12-11

treme contraction of panic fear,
Envy" decorating itself while
concentrating desire and will power
on what 1t did not possess; Cali
ban," demon awakened through
suffering. and The Cry of Pow
erty." an outstretched hand, in
which was concentrated all the
misery on earth.
But it was here that Edstrom.
through study of the pessimistic
Greek LAGOON" by an unknown
sculptor, and now in the vatican
art collection, was led to a singu-
lar reaction. the desire to create a
group which should refute the ia
talism of the ancient conception.
This early work had inspired Les
sings famous dissertation on the
LAGOON" a synthetic analysis of
Beauty as expressed in Poetry and
Painting. But 1t was left to the
great Swedish American sculptor,
David Edstrom. to announce to the
world his more daring thesis, that
Man is not the helpless victim of
Fate, that eventually he can and
will triumph over the unknown
powers which seem to surround and
overwhelm him in the struggles of
life. This is the remarkable new
work which Edstrom will exhibit
in Washington.
Must Portray Truth.
In his portraits Edstrom has at
tanned striking success. His char
acter delineation is extraordinary
Il cannot make women beautiful
just because they wish to be so,'
said he. Il have to portray them
as l feel them to be-"
David Edstrom's sculpture has
been widely heralded by noted
critics abroad, where he has sue
cessfully exhibited in London, Paris,
Florence, Vienna. Munich. Amster-
dam, Stockholm and Gothenbure.
His portrait busts and compositions
are in score OF noted collections
in Europe, where he has had many
important patrons, including the
royalties and nobility Of Sweden,
Princess Patricia and numerous
other celebrities
Since returning to the United
States he sometimes laments ever
having left America, SO strongly
does he believe that American ar,
must grow out of the soil of Amer
lea, must be created by America, of
America, for America. 1t must con-
form to and find it's means of ex-
istence in the nature. life, tradi-
tons and ideals which constitute
and govern America .
Sculpture Imaginative Art.
IF there is one thing we need
today" said Edstrom in a recen,
lecture in Los Angeles. ct is beau.
tiful things of the imagination be-
fore our eyes all the time. Z
The real scope of sculpture lies
more in the field of the imaginative
than does painting. The creates,
sculptors of history have reveled In
a world of Imagination. The gods
of Greece have been immortalized
by it's sculptors more than tHfough
its literature"
OF Edstrom's recent work in 10.
Angeles. we read jn THE American
Magazine of Art" for December
The recently formed Sculptors
Guild of Southern California is o,
particular interest, because its pur.
pose is not only to produce and. ex.
hibit the works of members but to
anu III pcoutiy ms Inc city as j,
grows"
The late w. H. de b. Nelson. edi.
tor of The international Studio
saw the sketch model of Edstrom',
The Triumph of Man" in his New
York studio and wrote of it. "'Th,
Triumph of Man Is complete ref.
utation of the surrender to fate
Edstrom's thoughts are not bound
ed by occurrences but speed acros,
the centuries. fastening themselve,
to universal verities. Edstron
himself would never brook de.
feat"
While in Washington Mr.. Ed
strom will lecture on The Cit,
Beautiful" before the League o.
American Pen womens and othsl
organizations.