Evening star., 1923-05-24
The North Window
ny LEILA MECHLIN

reflection, not on American sculptors,
but upon the city fathers who 40
frequently have erred in judgment
when selecting works OF arti The
great trouble comes In most instances
through lack of understanding and
because the children Of darkness are
oftentimes more enterprising than the
children of light. and how can ono
| ferentiate2
To many sculpture merely means a
form, q semblance of reality; to them
a portrait statue Is good or bad ac-
cording to whether or not II resem-
oles the man 1t represents. or their
idea of the man. and OF all forms of
sculpture for public purposes a por-
tralt statue is most popular. as Ii IL
| were the appearance that mattered.
the clothes that made the man. When
/ ever some prominent citizen leaves
this world the first thought of those
who would do him honor is to erect
! portrait statue in some public place.
| little thinking whether 1t will carry
| out their intent and serve a noble
purpose when they themselves are
dead and gone.
Occasionally such commissions have
fallen into the hands of capable art
lists and have therefore. almost by
accident. become works Of art, noble
/
are the Farragut in Union Square,
New York, by Saint-Gaudens; the
standing Lincoln in Lincoln Park.
| Chicago. by the same sculptor: the
| Henry Ward Beecher, in Brooklyn. by
J. 9. A, Ward: the Bryant. in Bryant
Park. New York, by Herbert Adams.
| OF all such portrait statues perhaps
the outstanding example. the highest
standard yet attained, Is the Nathan
Hale, by Frederick MacMonnies-a
! very simple statue standing in City
Hall Square. New York. OF this the
sculptor himself said: II wanted to
| make something that would set the
little bootblacks and clerks around
! there thinking; something that would
| make them want to be somebody and
/ And life worth living" In other
! words, he wanted not merely to arrest
attention but to emphasize the char
who gave all for his country. the man
who dared to do right. and this he
! accomplished.
/ But if one wants to know how
dreary and untnteresting such statues
usually are, it Is only necessary to
our Capitol: Here are works, and
! many sculptors of fair standing. but
how utterly pninteresting and unin-
spring in: most instances. theysare!
The Houdon Washington, and the
Cass, by Daniel Chester French. are
exceptions 10 the rule.
x X
Curiously enough, the most notable
portrait statues from the standpoint Of
artistic merit that one can recall have
been produced long years after the
men who they represent have died. For
example, the admirable statue of Aiex-
ander Hamilton, by Fraser. on the ter
race south of the Treasury, which was
unveiled with appropriate ceremonies
here last week. This statue is essen
TALLY work OF art and one to which
at all times We may point with pride.
1t is essentially plastic in its conception,
spirited, full Of individuality. a charac-
terization-charming delightful. And
whether or not II actually resembles
him as he was in life it does not signify.
II certainly personifies the spirit and
character of the man. The John Paul
Jones statue at the foot of 17th street,
the Hahnemann statue at Scott Circle,
both by Charles Henry Niehaus, are
likewise excellent. and were both exc
cuted many years after the men they
commemorate had died. So also the
Barry statue lin Franklin square, by John
Boyle, which is not, however, as good
as it should be, the O'Connor statue in
the same competition being infinitely
more artistic and engaging.
x
Washington is the city Of the eaues-
| trian statue and has a larger number
of such statues than any other city in
the world. Among this troop of horse
| men, all of which are of military lead
eRs. the Thomas, by Ward, in Thomas
| Circle, and the Grant, by Shrady, at the
foot Of the Capitol, at present in the
Botanic Gardens, but later on Capitol
Plaza, according to the city plan, are Of
chief Importance as works of art, brill
| liant achievements both. statues show
4 ir1ax rf4
herently possessing great dignity,
| -
But how little our city, and, in fact,
| dulged in purely decorative sculpture,
| such as the beautiful Fountain Of the
! Observatoire in Paris. Here in our
capital city we are fortunate in having
added in recent years the Mcmillan Me-
mortal Fountain in Mcmillan Park, the
Dupont Fountain in Dupont Circle. and,
! hidden away among the shrubbery, the
| delightful little Millet-Butt fountain to
the north of the eilipse. But think what
we might haye' Consider for a mo-
aginatdve works by American sculptors
daniel French's exquisite spirit Of
Life" at Saratoga, the extremely inter
| esting and important Indian sculpture
! by Cyrus K. Dallin Of Boston, among
which the Appeal to the Great Spirit"
l
! Arts. Boston, is of exceptional interest:
| dorado Taft's Fountain of the Lakes"
at the Art Institute of Chicago: Scion
| Borglum's sculpture indicative. of the
of Arc" on Riverside drive. New York;
Janet scudder's fountain figures, or
! Paul Manships extremely original
groups re-eeheing the spirit which
1 found expression through the medium
of sculptural art in Egypt and the far
east. or MaeMennies superb 'Horse
Tamers," in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
| X " v y
| So much of the gay sculpture in
1 this country has been produced for
our expositions and has vanished with
| them, 1t served its purpose. but 1t
| was so worthy of being put in per-
| manent form. With our innumerabIe
| parks, our beautiful foliage, we offer
| in Washington exceptional landscape
setting for sculpture of this sort. and
| the pity is that we have not more of
1t. Who, having had the experience,
does not recall with delight the CHEEKY
sculptural figures half hidden by TO-
liage, in the gardens of the Luxem-
| bourg;. or the sculpture of earlier date
which SO amazingly embeilishes the
wooded "Allees" at Versailles. And,
after all, why spend all of our means
and all of our effort memorializing
| the heroes of war; why not, IL We
must memorialize, erect monuments
| to the heroes OF peace who have en-
| bellished life by their genius-our
great painters. our great writer's, our
great architects, our great musicians
land. in so doing beautify our city?
We would. under such circumstances,
undoubtedly be building monuments
to ourselves, to the age In which we
| live, to our own wisdom and culture,
| and such expenditure Of money sure
| ly is not to be regarded as waste, 1t
| is thrifty, for it enriches. 1t adds to
civic pride, and it influences those
who come after u.s.