Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1923-07-19
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of the battle of New Orleans, the orator being
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 "History- of American Sculpture" Mills Yam
kee wits were with him, and he soon discovered
a new method of taking cast from living face
Then resolved to try cutting in marble he pro-
cured block of Carolina stOne and commenced
a bust Of John c. Calhoun. Although unfamiliar
with the professional methods he invented sys-
TEN 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 off 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 it for
want of historical truth He came to the con-
clusion while standing there TINT should he ever
have an order for a statue the world should find
fault for his giving too much truth and not for the
want of it." And 1t would seem that he carried
out precisely this vow, when ne created the much
maligned Jackson statue
During Mills stay in Washington he was APP
preached by the Hon. Cave Johnson then postmas-
ter general and president of the Jackson monument
committee with an invitation to furnish designs
for a bronze equestrian statue of the victor OF
New Orleans Having never seen an equestrian
statue the sculptor felt obliged to refuse the fat
Put no
finally resolved to produce design, and the final
result of his labors now stands in the center of
the park opposite the White House.
For nearly year Clark Mills worked patiently
on a small model on new principle-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, Nd, and built a
foundry and studio and as he was about to begin
the melting and recasting of the bronze cannon
from which the statue is made gale destroyed his
studio Before he could rebuild it, the foundry was
destroyed by fire. 1t 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-
can 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
designs by Crawford.
OF Mills equestrian statue of General jackson,
dorado Taft has this comment to make:
"Vho today begrudges this brave pioneer his
little need of success? Let US hope he never be-
came conscious of his defects. His grasp OF ms
subject is purely mechanical one; his motif In
the statue problem in equilibrium. He had new
or seen an equestrian statue; there was none IN
+his country to see. 1t seems at frst tnougnr
STRANGE that Americas initial performance In this
line should be of surprising audacty but 1t IS the
story of all beginnings; the ntrepdlty OF lgno-
rance: the inevitable approach in the most round
about way, and equally important the lack OF gen
unelv artistic inspiration. Having no notion or
susnicion of dignified sculptural treatment OF
theme, the clever carpenter felt nevertheless the
need Of a feature Perhaps he had heard OF 'ac-
tion At any rate he 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 all atten-
ton all admiration.
In comparison with the Jackson statue the pro
digous congressional joke" Mills next effort, the
washington statue, is tame. Instead OF balancing
the brazen steed single hoof logical Sc
nuence from previous effort, Mills. suggests IaTt,
"gaye his admirers osslng-the-Alps
effect But whatever we think of Clark Mills the
sculptor, owe debt of gratitude to clark MUS
orr first professional founder of statuary