The American Museum Journal 



Vol. XIII JANUARY, 1913 No. 1 



PORTRAIT OF MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP 



COMMENT BY THE "ART CRITIC, MR. J. EASTMAN CHASE, ON A 

 BRONZE BAS-RELIEF EXECUTED BY MR. JAMES E. FRASER 



IN making this memorial portrait of the donor of the great collection of 

 North American woods to the Museum whose interest he did so much 

 to promote, the sculptor's idea was first that it should be in harmony 

 with its surroundings and secondly that it should fittingly express Mr. 

 Jesup's interest in what was the object of an absorbing and lifelong devotion. 

 All the details of the composition have been carefully considered in whatever 

 way they might contribute to unity of thought and action and we can say 

 that the result is entirely in keeping with this double conception. 



Mr. Jesup is represented as walking in the woods, clothed as a man would 

 be on such an occasion and accompanied by his dog as a silent but sympa- 

 thetic companion. The mood is one of pleasurable contemplation. The 

 large and easy movement of the figure and the fine intelligence of the face 

 convey a vivid and agreeable impression of the character of the man. In 

 no more appropriate manner could Morris Ketchum Jesup be represented 

 in an enduring form than walking among the trees which so deeply interested 

 him all his life. 



" Loving them all 

 Among them he walked as a scholar who reads a book." 



BY THOSE WHO LOVE THE TREES OF NORTH AMERICA, MORRIS 

 KETCHUM JESUP WILL ALWAYS BE GRATEFULLY REMEMBERED > 



Almost the first step taken by Mr. Jesup upon his accession to the 

 presidency [of the Museum] was the creation at his own expense of a depart- 

 ment having in view a collection of all the woods in the United States .... 



"The formation of the Jesup Collection of North American Woods," 

 writes Mr. Sargent, "was a matter of national importance. The prepara- 

 tion of this collection enabled us to study the distribution of the economic 

 value of many trees which, before Mr. Jesup's undertaking, were largely 

 unknown. I think it can be said that this collection is the finest representa- 

 tion of forest wealth that exists in any country." 



Through his interest in this collection Mr. Jesup was led to study the 

 larger questions connected with forestry, and his energetic advocacy of the 

 work of forest preservation was the direct outcome of this interest. " Mr. 

 Jesup," continues Mr. Sargent, "certainly played an important part in the 

 early movement for the better care of the North American forests, and by 

 those who love trees he will always be gratefully remembered." 



1 Quotations from M orris Ketchum Jesup: A Character Sketch. By William Adams 

 Brown. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1910. 



