Evening star., 1940-07-28
New Statue
Secured for
Capitol
Bronze Replica of
Wards Sculpture
OF Washington
Bv leila MechHn.

lllt SIdIluulS ll6ulC, Wy d %. n.
Ward on the steps of the Subtreas-
ury in New York, which, according
to John Gregory, is one of the finest
of our national memorials; in fact,
one of the finest six.
The original was modelled in 1873
to commemorate Washington, as
a statesman, and given place half
way up the steps of the Subtreas-
ury Building, on the corner of Wall
and Broad streets, New York, ap-
proXimately where Washington
stood when, in 1889, he made his
inaugural address and took the oath
of office. At the time of the George
Washington Bi-Centennial cele-
bration here in 1882 the National
Sculpture Society secured permls-
sion to have a mold made from the
original and the statue cast in plas.
ter, to be included in the exhibition
in the United States National Mu-
scum, for which this organization
was responsible. The statue then
stood in the portico facing the Mall.
The following year, when President
Roosevelt was inaugurated, it was
placed in the Court of Honor in
front of the White House. 1mme-
diately after these inaugural cere-
monies. this duplicate in plaster was
sent to the foundry of the Cor
ham Co. in Providence, R. l., and
a replica cast in bronze. The present
Congress has authorized the pur-
chase of this replica at the eX-
tremely low price of $4,000, an ad-
ditional $4,000 being appropriated
for pedestal plus cost of erection.
With the advice and consent of the
Commission of Fine Arts, this statue
is to be set up on the west terrace
of the Capitol, where now stands
the statue of John Marshall, which,
with great appropriateness, is to be
removed to the grounds of the Su-
preme Court or their vicinity
We already have in Washington
two notable monumental works by
Ward; the equestrian statue OF
Gen. Thomas at the junction OF
Massachusetts avenue and Four
teenth street. and the Garfield
Memorial at the foot of the Capt.
tol, but we shall be fortunate in the
possession of third. There are
also three statues of our first Presi-
dent in this city. In the Smithsoni-
an Building is the seated statue
in Roman toga by Greenough, in
Washington Circle stands the
equestrian statue by Clark Mills,
and in the Capitol is copy OF the
Houdon statute in Richmond. OF
all these, however, the Ward figure
is by all means the most vital and
satisfactory both as symbol and
as an interpretive work, character
full and thought-provoking.
Took Native Themes.
John Quincy Adams Ward was
the first American sculptor to find
original expression, turning to ma
tive themes and Interpreting them
with frank individuality. His
career" wrote Caffin, in his Amer
lean Masters of Sculpture" CON
meets the past with the present,
spanning the long interval like
bridge; one pier embedded in the
old condition of things when Amer
lean sculptors first began to make
America the scene of inspiration OF
their art = the other firmly
incorporated in the order" At the
time this was written, however, the
sunset glories of the great tradition
had not begun to fade from the
sky. Ward travelled abroad and
learned from what he saw, but came
back home to work, and what he
did was in accordance with his
own seeing vision and the
conviction, if not the convention.
of his time. His advice to young
sculptors was always: Go abroad,
but do not stay there. No work in
a foreign language can have indi-
viduality"
1t is hard to believe how great
were the strides taken in sculpture
here in Wards lifetime When he
was not yet % years Of age, the first
equestrian statue by an American
sculptor, that of Jackson in Lafayette
Square, was modelled by Clark Mills,
and, in spite of enormous difficulties,
cast at the foundry which he him
self set up for the purpose near
Bladensburg. Wards birth year was
1880 and the place where he first
saw the light of day was a farm
near Urbana, Ohio, which his for
bears had helped to establish. He
came of pioneer stock, the first Ward
landing in jamestown, Va, in 1922,
when other Wards migrated west
ward.
The expectation was that he would
be farmer and what could have
put into his mind the desire to model
and carve, it is hard to understand,
for there were no contracts with
artists, no so-called art atmosphere
in Urbana to inspire him. To his
family his determination to become
a sculptor must have been very dis
concerting, but they did not put
obstacles in his way. A married
sister, residing in Brooklyn, was con-
suited and in turn sought advice
from Henry Kirke Brown, who had
a studio in that city. The result
was that she wrote John saying, IF
you think you have talent of the
highest order you may come here
and study"
That was asking great deal of
a lad of 10 who had lived all of his
life on farm But. taking his
courage in his hands, he accepted
the challenge and went, happily for
both him and for us.
OF course, he was in great luck
when he secured Henry Kirke Brown
as teacher and friend. for Brown was
one of the best of that day and his