Evening star., 1941-09-14

OF Senator MSuhilA"'A
whose efforts and interest secured
,be appointment OF the PARK Cohi.
,,,iceion of 1900, which brought ABOUT
.le extension of our park system ana
return to the fundamental lea
t,,ree of the LEnfant plan Tor lne
Iayo1onment of Washington. Inc
SCULPTOR is Herbert ADAMS ol view
work today the dean OF american
sculntIre. distinguished IN tne eyes
~ his colleagues and OF all VINO
,o,ua that which is finest IN art. Inc
orchitect was the late Charles "A.
DIT designer of the Freer Gallery.
created for the position Whlch ~
now occupies, the fountain "ouiu
GRACE any site upon which II might
stand. but it merits ana shoulu pe
o;ven the best The Office OF Engl-
neers has suggested placement near
First and Douglas streets NV
which is near its original locatioh'
hut the Commission of Fine Arts,
the advice of which has been o11lclal-
" sought. feels this site TO oe ratliel
subordinate and recommends III lCo
staad site in West Potomac PARK,
south of the Rejecting Basin ana
not far distant from the World war
Memorial. The difficulty in con-
nection with the latter site is the
cost of providing the necessary foun-
dation, the $4,000 allotted Tor sucn
purpose being less than a thru OF
the amount that would be required,
II would seem a very great PITY,
however. if. on this account, the
people of Washington, to say noth-
inc of out-of-toWn visitors, should
he deprived for an extended time OF
seeing and finding enjoyment IN TINS
exquisite work. The choice must,
IT. seems, be made between the sub
ordinate site and temporary storage.
"CIothespin Men"
WASHINGTON is none too rich in
superior and decorative sculptures,
though no city in the country offers
better opportunities for fine place
ment of such works. Up to l9OO,
we had. by way of outdoor sculpture,
chiefly men on horseback, memorials
of wartime leaders, equestrian sta
tues of which Washington still can
boast more in number than in any
other city in the world. Among
these are some of great artistic mer-
it as. for example, the Gen. Thomas
and the Gen. Grant, the former by
j. @. A. Ward, the latter by Henry
Shrady. Much fun has been made
of the Jackson in Lafayette Square,
but none can deny its decorative
quality. Setting aside the fact that
when Clark Mills modelled and cast
this equestrian statue, there was
none other by an American in the
whole United States, 1t must be ad-
mitted to have life and spirit which
some later works failed to attain.
Gutzon Borglum once remarked that
the equestrian statues in Washing
ton were merely "clothespin men on
wooden horses" and although his
own creation, that of Sheridan, goes
perhaps too far in the other d1-
rection, there is some truth in the
criticism. But all these statues are IN
q class by themselves. What we are
discussing here are works in Sculp-
ture which exist primarily for the
sheer pleasure which is to be derived
from beauty Of design and workman
ship.
An example of this is the fountain
IN Dupont Circle by Daniel Chester
French. Less simple than the Nc
MILAN Park fountain, it, too, has
dignity and beauty People stop and
gaze at it in passing by. The foun-
tain by Adams maintains nice bal
ance between architectural and
sculptural features-it is very SIM
pie in outline and composition, but
charmingly embellished. Meant to
be looked up to, it cuts delightfully."-
against the sky. Purposed as a me-
mortal but also as decoration, 1t
is given special distinction by the
use made of the water and its flow.
Whatever future site is selected
should provide for its well-seeing-
elevation, enough open space sur
rounding, and also some foliage as
background.
The potentialities of decorative
sculpture in outdoor placement have
been wonderfully manifested IN
Brookgreen Gardens, in South Caro-
lima. designed and given to the State
BY Mr.. and Mrs. Archer M Hunting
ton. Here. with utmost care, works
by practically all our leading Amer
lean sculptorS are shown, outStand-
ing or against brick and foliage back
grounds, with sunlight and shadow
falling upon them, as certainly
the sculptors once dreamed they
might. Sculpture is not merely the
upbuilding of form in a studio, but
modelling with light and shade. 1t
must of course. be plastic, but bulk
is only the beginning, not the end,
of cutting and modelling in relief or
the round.
Also, it is right that art should
be merry as well as grave. Even IN
these dark times, it is called upon
to this end. How much delight has
been given countless individuals by
Brenda Putnam's Puck a
Jolly. saucy little fellow, who may
be found in the greenery beside the
Folger Shakespeare Library. There
is also-though less seen-MacMon-
MES spirited little Pan playing on
his pipes in a niche at the head OF
the pool in the garden court opening
out of the Whittall Music Pavilion
at the Library of Congress.
Stirs the Emotions.
Three of the Washington bridges
are decorated by Sculptured animals
tigers and buffaloes by Phimister
Proctor, lions by Roland Hinton Per-
ry, sculptor of the Court OF Neptune
Fountain in front Of the Library OF
Congress. Superb Sculptural groups
have been designed and are under
way for the decoration of the ap-
proaches to Arlington Memorial
Bridge.
Through the benefcence of pri-
vate citizens who have left to their
home cities large endoWmentS for
such purpose, both Chicago and
Philadelphia have been much en-
riched by sculpture afforded out