PARK AND CCnCTCRY 
153 
GEN'L GEORGE B. MEADE. — ALEXANDER MILNE CALDER, SC. 
paws resting on the neck of the deer, with his tail 
curled under and in a pose of snarling defiance, 
gaunt, hungry and ferocious; ready to slay or be 
slain, in equitable adjustment of wolfish desire. 
The attidudeis strong, and the lines character- 
ize the perceptive and retaining quality of the 
sculptors mind; (for have I not seen them in cross- 
ing the steppes of Russia?) mark the hollowness and 
loose lying skin of the one looking up in the face of 
his erstwhile companion and now envied antagonist. 
'I'hat portrays hunger of 24-30 hours duration, which 
a good meal of horse, dog or sheep will in 45 min- 
utes dissipate and cause to be blown out and bellied 
like a balloon, and yet with rapid digestation dis- 
appear almost in two hours. 
It is to be regretted that the subject treated so 
cleverly, leaves an indistinct impression as regards 
the deer, the hind part stands out from the jaw of 
the wolf revealing the delicate lines of the tapered 
leg, but unfortunately the public is left to conjecture 
whether it is part of a deer, and this is made un- 
answerable since it is impossible for the average 
man or woman to look on the top of the pedestal 
standing nearly 6 feet 6. The paws of the crouch- 
ing wolf, rest seemingly on the empty skin of the 
deer. If such be the case, of course it is accept- 
able, but conjecture should not enter into sculp- 
tured art. It should reveal clearly the intention of 
the sculptor, if affording food for mystification, 
then it is in part false. This first spirited group 
was erected in 1873, at a cost of nearly $5,000. 
$2,000 for the model in full, $1,500 for casting 
and the usual sundries making up the total. 
The equestrian statue of General G. H. Meade 
occupies a good position on the Northwest of Me- 
morial Hall and facing toward Horticultural Hall, 
Fairmount Park. The figures of horse and rider, 
above life size and yet scarcely approaching the 
heroic, are in bronze, designed and won after a 
hard fought competition, by Alexander Milne 
Calder of this city, and cast by the Henry Bon- 
nard Bronze Co. of New York. Erected in 1888, 
it stands on a fine pedestal, 14 by 12 feet long, of 
rock face granite, with polished base or plinth, and 
polished crown mould. A glance at the accessories 
will show a faithful adherence to all the details by 
the sculptor, and yet unfortunately the weak lines 
of the left hand would not justify the idea that the 
reins held as weakly as they are,' would be power- 
ful enough to cause the horse to fall back upon the 
power of its haunches, and thus plant the fore feet 
with the determination shown or cause the lower jaw 
to be drawn with almost painful tension. The fig- 
ure is bold and not wanting in the grace of good 
lines and dignity. There is no sense of the heroic 
displayed; the pose portrays the opponent of Lee, 
not as one would imagine him, eager to cut through 
the lines of the Confederates at Pipe Ridge, and 
hoping to cut off Lee’s communications with Rich- 
mond, or after the three days struggle at Gettys- 
burg; but rather in the act of acknowledging a sa- 
lute of his battalions at review. The fatigue cap in 
hand hanging down over the saddle cloth, denies 
even this supposition, and raises the theory of a fal- 
sity. Military tenets supply the action of the in- 
verted hand or exposure of the palm betokening 
submission, and the acceptance of such a salute by 
a superior , officer being signalized by his showing 
the back of his hand with the index and second 
fingers raised to the chapeau, helmet, forage or fa- 
tigue cap. Thus it will be seen that the conditions 
of the pose would be more for a riding master, who 
after putting through some evolutions, reins in and 
salutes in response to the applause. 
It is one of the most costly monuments at pres- 
ent erected by the Fairmount Park Art Association. 
No less than $25,000 being paid for the figure of 
horse and man, not including the pedestal. 
Did the sculptor intend to show Pennsylvania’s 
General viewing the dead, then indeed one might 
accept the pose, but failing this theory, its pose is 
scarcely interpretable. Possibly the intention of 
the sculptor was simply to show General Meade and 
“Baldy” — the horse reining in after a hard and heat- 
ed gallop. Mr. Calder has achieved a very fair suc- 
cess, as regards the portraiture of Gen. Meade. 
Walter Percy Lockiiigton. 
