Evening star., 1922-02-19
FAMOUS WARD COLLECTION OF TROPHIES e
AND SCULPTURE PLACED IN SMITHSONIAN

L i i xOOx VIZ Al y
making him sit still even for a min
ute. ! sketched five heads altogether,
{, the sun was very strong, and
there was no shelter, 30, as I found
my eyes beginning to ache, closed
my book. They said was casting a
spell upon them by looking up con-
stantly when drawing. and that the
models would die"
- NJ
THE natives admired any exhibi-
ton of personal strength, skill
or endurance, and the white man who
could shoot an elephant or walk some
tremendously long distance was sure
Of winning their regard. Herbert
Ward earned the name Mayala Mbemba.
meaning "The Eagles Wings" from
having accomplished a journey Of
forty miles over a wearisome and
fatiEuinE road In a single day. Such
q feat was remarkable when 1t is
considered that the average days
Journey of q white man on the road
in Africa was from ten to fifteen
miles. Natives had been known to
20 thirty miles. but this was excep-
tional. They rarely travelled more
than ten or twelve miles in a day.
Upon hearing Of Wards forty-mile
jaunt, one Of the natives exclaimed,
"He must have eagles wings" The
name stuck to him as long as he re-
mained in Africa.
Upon his return from the Kongo
Ward married a daughter of Charles
H. Sanford Of New Jersey. banker
and hnancier, who had lived in the
Argentine for many years. Having
settled down in England. he began
first to draw and paint and then to
model the figures that he had drawn
rs Illustrations for magazine arti-
cles.
The head OF An African chief was
his first serious work in sculpture.
It was exhibited in the Royal Acad-
emy, London. but 1t was too exotic
for that staid institution. A replica
was shown in the Salon des Artistes
Francais in Paris. There a very diff
ferent reception met his work. 1t
received an honorable mention, and
later the French government pur-
chased It for the Luxembourg. and a
girls head made later by Ward was
also acquired for that national gal
lery.
This moro sympathetic atmosphere
induced him to settle in Paris. where
he was able to work with greater
freedom. He studied sculpture for
a short time at the celebrated Julian
Academy in Paris. Later he was a
pupil of Tony Robert Fleury and
Jules Lefevre. Eventually he realized
his boyish ambition to study under
Seymour Lucas.
His next work, lie Chef de Tribu,"
was exhibited in the salon and re-
ceived q gold medal (third). In 1910
he received the highest prize that the
salon awards to foreign sculptors, the
gold medal tsecond). for "a Kongo
Artist" He was awarded the Legion
Of Honor in 1911. and from that time
he continued his work with ever-in-
creasing success and reputation.
WHEN war was declared Herbert
" Ward was prompt to show the
fallacy Of tho too old at forty" leg
end. He turned over his beautiful
chateau at Robellois to one Of the
branches Of the Red Cross, engaged
An English doctor and nurses. COM
pleted arrangements for its working
ona .h,r&1xy a o. arr,o ~ haco mo otto cha n
as lieutenant to the famous No. 3 con-
voy Of the British ambulance committee.
He served at the front until bursting
shell lalned him for life. He was
mentioned in the dispatches and dec
grated with the croix de guerre.
In the early part OF 1916 he made
a flying trip to the United States and
lectured in the principal cities from
coast to coast. His knowledge and
experience Of the French nation and
the French soldier brought mass of
new information and threw q much
needed light on the situation. He
then wrote 'Mr. Poilu." tribute to
the French soldier and the French
woman in the war, illustrated with
his own drawings. He turned over
the proceeds from the sale Of the
book to the Red Cross.
His eledest son. Charles Ward. was
welterweight boxing champion Of the
English universities. He enlisted in
tho Grenadier Guards at tho out
break of hostilities and was killed
while in command Of his company at
Neuve Chapelle. A second son, Her
bert Ward, distinguished himself in
the Royal British flying corps. He
was badly wounded in an aerial duel,
and his machine was shot down be-
hind tho German lines. After i've
months in German hospitals and
prison camps he escaped to Switzer-
land. He is now engaged in one of
the greatest aviation centers in Eng
land. A third son, Rodney Ward, 1s
an undergraduate at Oxford.
The elder daughter, Sarita, IS the
wife Of Sir Coiville Barclay, British
minister to Sweden, while her sister,
Frances. is the wife Of Eric Phipps,
councillor Of the British embassy at
Brussels. Lady Barclay is we'll
known in Washington society, as her
husband was attached to the British
embassy here during the war.
X \ y X
A ETER the war Herbert Ward
went to Poland on tour of in
spection. Returning through Rome,
he was taken seriously i'll. Ambassa-
dor and Mrs. Thomas Nelson Page
cared for him until he had sufficiently
recovered to return to France. He
was never well after that. He died