453 



scci.nrnn. 



true art-fi-cling In statues like those of Roger Wil- 

 liams anil l.oiiu'lellow. The (iliost in Hamlet, tlic 

 West Wind. :uid similar works, by Thomas H. 

 Gori.ii ib^l* Sl>, show liuicy and "ideal feeling 

 rather than technical kaowledtfO. 



Originally a carpenter, Krastug D. P.U.MKU 

 ,'.. 1817) did not tnm his attention to art until Ins 

 li'.Uli vear. B. 'ginning as a cutter of cameo portraits 

 !i sought a broixiler field fur his talents, MM 

 in 18">0 exhibited his tirst piece of sculpture, the 

 Inf.int Ceres. Like Kineliart, he was a true idealist, 

 with a rlear perception of the beautiful. There is, 

 moreover, a vein of don.cstic sentiment, iind a 

 depth of religion* feeling shown in many of his 

 pr >.hi'-lions. His morn notable works include The 

 l:i>liaii Captive, representing the dawn of Chrisli- 

 a ilty on the savage, mind; the purely beautiful 

 W.iilc Slave; Spring; The Angel of the Sepulchre, 

 ::n I the exquisite bas-reliefs Morning and Evening, 

 li U a fact worthy of note that, unlike most of our 

 sculptors, lie did not acquire his knowledge, of urt 

 nnd its technique abroad, but in his native land. 



Some of the finest of the statues that adorn our 

 public place*, arc the work of , I. Q. A. WARD(fc.ls:UH, 

 one of the most vigorous and original of our sculp- 

 tor*. His work is thoroughly national in subject 

 nml spirit, for he h:is never been undiilv iiilluenced 

 by foreign models. Of his portrait, statues the most 

 successful are those of Gen. Thomas (one of the 

 best of our equestrian statues), and Washington 

 (at Xewburj'port). The latter, a noble and majes- 

 tic work, is a notable addition to the very limited 

 number of really commendable statues of Wash- 

 ington which we possess. Several of Ward's beM. 

 works are in New York, amoinr them the noMe 

 of .shakcspcarc, and the Indian iiuntcr, one 



portraiture equalled hy few of our sculptor*. Ir. 

 William KIJIMKI: , Hlo T'.n. v. ho-e lif,- was devot. d 



L I 



i: 



WARD'S " INDIAN HUNTER." 



of his earlier productions, which, though its entire 

 anatomical correctness has I icon questioned, is yet 

 a characteristic and spritcd piece of work, and 

 '.ii- of the most notable examples of American 

 plastic art. 



Another sculptor whose work ranks with the 

 heat produced In this country is Iinnt TiioMreoN 

 (6. 1833), a pupil of Palmer. He early developed 

 an extraordinary talent for medallion portraits, and 

 lu'eame one of the strongest and ni"(-t successful of 

 our portrait sculptors. In works like the bust of 

 Edwin Booth, the st.itne of GUI. Scdgwirk, that of 

 Napoleon, the well-known and excellent one of 

 l'n -sident I'ier-on, at Yale, a-id the cqiM 

 italuu of Gen. Burusidc, he has ehoun a talent lor 



mainly to teaching, exerted a decided inlluencu on 

 the art of our younger sculptors. He was a most 

 profound student of art anatomy, on which subject 

 ic published a valuable work, "lie modeled several 

 energetic works, of which the Gladiator, especially, 

 is remarkable tor the thorough knowledge of tho 

 human figure which it hi 



III John ltoGKi:s (I,. l-.".ij"we Iind an artist whose 

 work is quite unconventional. He has chosen most 

 of his subjects from the evcry-day life around him, 

 and in delineating its humorous and pathetic 

 aspects he is quite unrivalled. In illustrating in- 

 cidents of military life the life of the common 

 soldier he lirst struck a sympathetic chord. Then; 

 may be no " high art" in his groups, but they ap- 

 peal to popular feeling and have undoubtedly had 

 a considerable share in elevating the artistic tastes 

 of the people. 



The number of women who have turned their 

 attention to sculpture has always been limited, but 

 there are a few American ladies who have gained 

 a certain reputation in this branch of art. '1 he 

 most prominent, Harriet HOS.MKK (It. lS:ist), went to 

 Italy in 1S.VJ to study under Gibson. Although her 

 works are perhaps not all satisfactory from an artis- 

 tic point of view, yet in statues like Puck, the 

 Sleeping Faun, and the colossal and majistic Zeno- 

 bia, she has been very successful, and ail her works 

 lx>ar the stamp of a strong and decided individuality. 

 Kmma Sn-:ia:i.\s (ISi.VSJi, the friend and bio- 

 grapher of Chariot tu Cushman, produced, among 

 other works, a statue of Horace Mann for Huston, 

 p.ml a large fountain for Central Park. New York. 

 Miss Anne WJUTNKY also gaimd distinction as an 

 earnest and thoughtful artist. Others who have 

 gained repute in this branch of art are Mr.-. II. A. 

 L. Freeman, wile of the artist, .hums K. Fret n. an, 

 Vinnie Ream Hoxie and Kdmonia Lewis. 



In reviewing the work thus far accomplished in 

 American sculpture, we find that, as in paintim.', 

 there has been much that is merely imitative. We 

 have seen much "classic" work, which, Ihoiiuli 

 olteii inspired by pure and noble sentiments, and 

 at times executed with considerable technical 

 ability, yet naturally lacked the spirit which p< -r- 

 vadeb the sculpture of antiquity. As in painting, 

 so here some of the best efforts uf the earlier artists 

 were exerted in portraiture. 



The ignorance in art-matters frequently shown 

 by those who made it their business to select artists 

 for the many national monuments that have already 

 U-en executed here, has resulted in producing not 

 a few monstrosities that should never have hi c n 

 erected to disfigure our public places. Still, our 

 few really able sculptors ha\e produced .some works 

 of lasting merit. 



To continue the comparison with painting, the 

 new, progressive movement that has. taken place 

 there is also strongly felt here. There have arisen a 

 number of younger sculptors all more or less in 

 sympathy with the strongly realistic tendencies of 

 this new movement. Though much of their work 

 is yet immature and not wholly satisl'actor. 

 some of them have already attained lasting'famc. 

 One of the most prominent is Augustus ST. 

 GATOKNS, who received his technical training under 

 .loullroy in Paris, lie has executed a very beautiful 

 bas-relief, the Adoration of the Cross by Aii'.'cls. in St. 

 Thomas' Church. N. Y.. and in his statues of Pres. 

 Lincoln (see p. -l.V.d. Admiral Farragnl and Robert 

 H. Randall, a n< 1 the bust of Gen. Win. T. Sherman, we 

 have excellent examples of powerful, realistic and 

 unconventional style in portrait sculpture. Win. 

 U. O'DoNOVAX has also been very sued ssful in his 

 portrait busts, amon^' whi' h is the masterly one of 

 William Page. The monument to the caplor> of 



