The Holly chieftain., 1923-07-19
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Stephen A. Douglas, then senator from Illinois,
Clark Mills born in New York and early losing
his parents, drifted to Charleston. s. c., where he
obtained work in plaster and cement MILL Art
education he had none, but says dorado Taft, in
his "Hstory of American Sculpture" Mills Yam
kee wits were with him, and he soon discovered
new method of taking cast from living face.
Then resolved to try cutting in marble, he pro-
cured a block of Carolina stone, and commenced
bust of John G. Calhoun. Although unfamiliar
with the professional methods, he invented sys-
tenn of his own, and succeeded In producing the
best likeness ever taken of Calhoun. The bust
was purchased by the city Of Charleston. and Mills
was presented with gold medal by the Common
wealth.
Fame followed quickly, and John Preston, a
wealthy gentleman of Columbia, befriended the
young artist Mills started for Washington to see
the statuary in the capitol, but stopped of long
enough In Richmond to view the Houdon statue
Of Washington This was the first statue he had
ever seen.
At Washington, continues dorado Taft "Mills
eagerly looked at the statue OF Washington, by
Greenough, and though he thought the anatomy
perfect, he could not associate General Washing
ton with the statue The crowd of visitors, so far
as he could learn, invariably condemned 1t for
want Of historical truth. He came to the con-
clusion while standing there TINT should he ever
have an order for statue the world should find
fault for his giving too much truth andn for the
out precisely this vow, when he created the much
maligned Jackson statue.
During Mills stay in Washington he was ap-
preached by the Hon. Cave johnson, then postmns-
ter general and president Of the Jackson monument
committee, with an Invitation to furnish designs
for bronze equestrian statue Of the victor Of
New Orleans Having never seen an equestrian
statue the sculptor felt obliged to refuse the fiat
tering offer But, pondering the subject, Mills
finally resolved to produce design, and the final
result of his lab0rs stands In the center Of
the park opposite the White House
For nearly year Clark Mills worked patiently
small model on new princple-that of bring
ing the hind legs of horse directly beneath the
center of its body, thus producing perfect balance
Mills bought land near Lanham, Md. and built a
foundry and studio and he was about to begin
the melting and recastng Of the bronze cannon
from which the statue is made gale destroyed his
studio Before he could rebuild 1t, the foundry
destroyed by fire. It was after all this, added to
the breaking of cranes, the bursting Of furnaces
and six failures in the body Of the horse that the
first equestrian statue to be made by an Ameri-
c1n was completed.
From his original designs he produced replica
for the city Of New Orleans and directly afterward
began work upon the Washington statue-lately
removed for repairs from Washington circle. And
upon the completion Of this work he cast the
statue of Freedom, atop Of the Capitol dome. from
designs by Crawford
OF Mills equestrian statue of General jackson.
dorado Taft has this comment to make:
"Who today begrudges this brave pioneer his
little need Of success? Let us hope he never be-
came conscious Of his defects. His grasp Of his
subject is purely mechanical one; his motif In
the statue, problem in equilibrium. He had new
er seen an equestrian statue; there was none In
this country to see. It seems at first thought
strange that Americas initial performance In this
line should be of SURPRISING audacity, but 1t is the
story Of all beginnings; the intrepidity Of igno-
rance; the Inevitable approach in the most round
about way, and equally important, the lack Of gen.
uinely artistic inspiration. Having no notion or
suspicion of dignifed sculptural treatment of a
theme the clever carpenter felt nevertheless the
need of feature Perhaps he had heard Of 'ac-
ton AT any rate ne built colossal horse, adroitly
balanced on the hind legs; and America gazed
with bated breath. Nobody knows or cares
whether the rider looks like Jackson; the ex-
traordinary pose of the charger absorbs al atten-
tion, all admiration"
In comparison with the Jackson statue, the 'pro-
digious congressional joke Mills next effort the
washington statue, Is tame. Instead Of balancing
the brazen steed on single hoof, logical Sc
auence from previous effort, Mills suggests Taft,
gave his admirers Napoleon-crossing-th -the-Aps
effect. But whatever think of Clark Mills the
sculptor, we owe debt of gratitude to Clark Mills.
our first professional founder Of statuary."