Evening star., 1926-11-18
THE NORTH WINDOW
By Leila Mechliss.


from the standpoint both Of size and
cost, Of any memorial to the Great
War which has yet been erected IN
this country. but its Significance lies
not in these facts alone, rather in the
quality Of the work. the originality OF
the design, the conception OF the de-
signer. This is the work of n. van
Buren, Magonigle, fellow OF the Amerl-
can Institute of Architects, associate
of the National Academy OF Design.
The Commission was given him five
years ago as the result or q compe'
tition. The committee in Kansas
City let it be known that what was
desired was q designer who couIo
create World War memorial worthy
of the record Of which 1t Is to be
messenger; a symbol not OF war. put
Of peace and the dawn of the era Oh
peace"
How did Mr.. Magonigle meet this re-
Quirement? BY designing a monu'
ment which would take into consider
alton the march of civilization from
the days of the Egyptians to the pres.
ent time and, stressing the brutal
smear" of the great World War. point
hopefully, triumphantly, to future
achievement--thea achievement ofWorld
peace. This has been done by resort
ing to the method used by prehistoric
man. A frieze 400 feet long and lS
feet high has been placed on an un'
broken wall 500 feet long and so feet
high, representing pictortally the age
OF chaos and myth. the birth and de-
velopment Of civilization, Egypt COM
ing into her own. the flight of the
Israelites out Of Egypt, the uprising
Of the Assyrian and Babylonian king
doms, the mingling of these civiliza-
tions with India, with Persia, with
China; then the birth of Christianity,
after which Scythia, China, Persia
and India carried on to Mohammed
and the spread of Islam, and on and on.
1t Is the history of humanity. graph
ically and pictorially told by the hand
Of sculptor. This has been cut in
outline with chisel, not modelled nor
nodded, and was designed by the
sculptor's wife. Edith Magonigle, who
is we'll known as mural painter.
Above the wall bearing this frieze Is
an altar Of sacrifice, a great tower,
fianked by two buildings, enriched by
mural paintings and landscape set
ting for the whole. There Is other
sculptural work four attendant
angels and yelled sphinxes. The
dominant impression which the work
produces is of monumental solidity,
of towering aspiration. Essentially Is
this work of collaboration. essential
ly also is it work in which great
unity of design has been attained.
Writing Of this memorial in re-
cent number of the Journal OF the
American Institute Of Architects, j.
Monroe Hewlett, himself an architect
and mural decorator of foremost dis
tinction, quotes Herman Hagedorn's
"Ode Of Dedication" written at the
| time of our entrance into the war, as
| indicative Of the spirit which this
memorial sets forth, the hope that 1t
| will point future generations to the
| way Of life. not death; Of liberty, not
bars" 1T is" he says, "the unmis'
taxable emphasis Of such thought as
| this that will, in the hearts and minds
| of all who visit Kansas City, prove
the crowning glory of this great me-
mortal, and to architects, painters and
| sculptors this work may also prove
an object lesson and step forward in
! the task Of restoring to the arts OF
design their long-lost unity"
| xN X X
In this connection it is interesting
| to note that the majority Of the monu-
ments which have been erected as
memorials of the Great War have
stressed spiritual quality rather than
physical attainment. For example, a
war memorial designed and executed
! by Herbert Adams, which has lately
been erected in Winchester, Mass, and
shows the figures of two women
! Humanity" and Justice; or again
a memorial by Daniel Chester French,
which has lately been unveiled in
Milton, Mass, which is entitled "In
Flanders Fields" and represents the
| Spirit Of Youth passing on the torch
! Of liberty to those who follow after.
| How different is this attitude from
| that of conquest, which inspired the
erection Of the great triumphal arches
| of the Old World, and even the pa
thetic soldier monuments Of our own
Civil War period! Does it mean that
| we have indeed had a vision, that
civilization. manifested through art, is
moving on?
What" asked some one recently,
ARE the American artists doing to in
| duce world peace?" The reply was,
Nothing consciously as propaganda,
thank fortune, because when art be.
comes conscious it is not at it's best"
Yet art undoubtedly is one of the
great factors making for peace. Even
| during the Great War, when feeling
ran high, this fact was recognized.
In the field of painting and sculpture,
music and drama, 1t was generally un.
derstood that the great creative
artists belonged to the world rather
than to any one nation. Since the war
breaches have been healed by invited
cooperation between one.time enemies
Those who love art and speak Its Ian.
guage are essentially akin. 1t is a
mistaken idea. however, that per.
manent peace Is to be attained through
the ordinary publicity methods-the
use of posters, storytelling paintings
little works. It Is gigantic theme
and only those of commensurate
genius are capable of giving it ade.
luate expression.
X y X
In line with this thought and apropos
of the subject dealt with in this
column last week, is a statement made
by Glenn Brown, one-tine secretary
of the American Institute of Archi-
tects. in Notes and Comments in a
! Midsummer number of the Archi
! tectural Record. The unveiling of a
bust of Augustus Saint -Gaudens by his
one-time pupil, James Earle Fraser, in
the Hall of Fame, New York, recalled
to Mr.. Brown Saint-Gaudens' interest
| In the development of Washington and
the extraordinary influence which he
and a group of architects-D. H. Burn
ham. Charles f. McKim and paint
er, Frank Millet-exercised in the de
velopment of the Washington plan
and in cooperative work done in con
nection with the Chicago Exposition
1T would be profitable, believe" he
says. "for the present generation to
recall or consider why the labOrS OF
that group of men had such far-reach
ing and persistent results for good
While we must believe they ha6
greater Unborn genius than had beer
granted to others, they had, in ad
ditton other qualities which We fee