The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-04-19
Frederick Haskin's Letter
The Mounted Inanortals of America
tsbeciai cu-reapeadsnes of Ths Arxus.l

such statues in the world A cen
sus taken by the society located
$40, not including statuets. OF
these the United States had IS.
thereby leading all other countries.
Paris and London, however, had
more equestrian statues than
| Washington. In this country.
Philadelphia ranked second, with
i IL, and New York third, with 8.
Few Mounted Figures.
Several reasons can be given TO
show why there are so few eques-
trian statues compared with the
great number of statues in exist
ence. The first is that only Ger
tain classes of heroes and heroines
are suitably immortalized on horse
back. In Europe, kings, queens,
and military leaders monoposize
! this type of memorial This coun-
TRY has had no equestrian statue
! of a king since its very first eques-
trian memorial erected in 1870 to
+! George III and later melted into
42.0SS bullets to help the cause OF
the American Revolution.
| Our horseback heroes are gener-
ais, with perhaps a dozen excep-
| LAOEAS 1AlL Sdk SUI IOI instance
rides a horse on a pedestal in Colo
RADIO. st. Louis, in the town nam
ed for him, is represented on
: horseback. Paul Revere, in Bos-
ton, is shown riding to warn the
countryside of the approaching
British
The scarcity of appropriate sub
| jects for equestrian statues re-
stricts their use, and they are fur
/ Their limited by the cost and work
involved. A mounted hero costs
/ four or five times as much as one
standing When possible, congress
| provides cannon captured in the
hero's campaigns as material for
statues of generals in Washington.
Even so, the cost of a general on
! horseback runs to $4,000 or even
j 5000, including the pedestal
which sometimes has cost more
than the statue.
A sculptor often spends several
years on a commission for an
equestrian group. The horse COM
pIicates matters, so that long study
! is required in planning a suitable
pose of horse and rider. And as
the designing and execution of
such a piece of work are arduous,
the sculptor must be paid accord
ingly.
Little Variety Possible.
The difficulties of portrait sculp-
ture are increased in horseback
figures because there are so few
possibilities for variety. Horses
in unusual contortions are not ap-
! proved, yet the mount should show
life and spirit. A general may be
represented holding field glasses or
sword. He must wear the proper
uniform. The Colonists in 1888
wanted a statue of George Wash
/ horseback and dressed in a Ro-
wreath. But no such romantic
equestrian statue of an American
| general ever materialized.
| A general must be realistic in
bronze and no antique symbolism
or departures from sober dignity
and truth are permitted. One sculp-
, tor who suggested that he depict
a general standing beside his horse
as a pleasing novelty was coldly
informed that an equestrian statue
was not a field for innovations
which might reflect on the dignity
of the nations military heroes In
an equestrian statue general
must be represented riding on a
horse. To show him standing be
side a mount might lead people TO
think that he could not sit on q
horse with proper military spirit.
| So far, all he military men hon
ored by mounted statues in
Washington have been associated
with campaigns not later than he
Civil war In these early wars a
general rode horse in battle and
lived on a horse in wartime.
! But when the capital comes TO
honor the generals of the Euro
pean war either realism or art is
going to receive a jolt For while
some of our generals do ride. and
! ride we'll, yet truth and realism
would seem to demand that the
modern general be portrayed rid
, ing in an army automobile or
! seated at desk giving orders over
! a telephone. However, the sCulp-
! tors will probably stretch point
and continue to give US military
heroes as they appear at army
riding contests or out for a morn
i ing canter.