40257 



Clay models of eight figures commissioned for ttie Field Museum but never realized in marble. Thie first four (from left) represent nortfi, 

 south, east, and west These eventually appeared, in limestone, above the north and south entrances of Chicago's Ivluseum of Science and 



18 



ers, opening to the public there in 1933 some 13 years 

 after Field Museum's departure and following radical 

 reconstruction, t These four statues were added to the 

 building some time after 1926, the year the newer 

 museum received its charter, though we know from 

 dated photos that clay models of the figures were done 

 as early as 1916. These four, representing the four car- 



tThe original building, the so-called Palace of Fine Arts, had been 

 constructed in 1893 for the Columbian Exposition, and was not 

 designed to survive for more than the fair's duration. By the time 

 the Field Museum completely vacated the structure a quarter- 

 century later, the "palace" was a shambles. 



dinal directions, together with models of figures 

 representing the four elements — earth, air, fire, and 

 water — were photographed in Hering's Manhattan stu- 

 dio in November 1916, positioned on a model of the 

 Museum's portico (north or south). This total of eight 

 figures standing in a row on separate pedestals was to 

 appear over both the north and south entrances. 



More than seventy years removed, we cannot be 

 certain why these eight were abandoned, though the 

 costly marble pieces may have been stricken for budget 

 reasons (those were difficult years for the Museum). 

 The eight caryatids, also of marble, were far less 

 expendable since, as porch columns, they were integral 



