Give the man room : $b The story of Gutzon BorglumCasey, Robert J. (Robert Joseph)
General
Give the man room : $b The story of Gutzon Borglum
Casey, Robert J. (Robert Joseph)
Borglum, Gutzon, 1867-1941
Unfortunately Gutzon Borglum was in Texas. Telegrams were exchanged, and
he met Mrs. Greenway in 1928--at the Democratic National Convention in
Houston. Mrs. Greenway brought to the San Antonio studio not only
photographs of her husband but some of his clothes and favorite gear.
She knew, the sculptor said, more about her husband’s appearance and
characteristics than any person he had ever met who tried to tell him
what he wanted to know of a departed hero--and must know if he were to
complete a perfect likeness.
The bronze statue was unveiled in Washington in 1930, and Mrs. Greenway
ordered a replica to be placed in Arizona. The friendship between her
and the sculptor which began at first sight was without a flaw during
their lifetime.
From the state of North Carolina, meanwhile, came a commission for a
bronze group in memory of Carolina soldiers who led the immortal
Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, a dramatic climax that
marked the high tide of the Confederacy and from which Lee’s army reeled
back in defeat, never to attempt another invasion of the North. The
sculptor had submitted a small-scale model of the group, made in his
Breckenridge Park studio at San Antonio in 1928. This was accepted and
he was busy with an improved large-scale model when the same wearisome
correspondence began, caused by some misunderstanding of the artist’s
habit of developing, that is, bettering, the original plan.
Here, for example, is a letter from Mr. Barringer, a member of the
memorial committee, written to another member, Mr. Fuller, after seeing
photographs of the large-scale model and noting with anxiety that
changes had been made from the original. He said:
It is out of the question for me to go to San Antonio to examine
the model. I am perfectly willing, however, to abide by your
judgment. I confess to being somewhat disappointed, particularly in
the expressions of the faces. They do not give promise of being as
good as those on the smaller model. Moreover, I cannot help
agreeing with the governor that the model does not seem to be
completely finished.
If Borglum will put his best into this monument, as we have the
right to believe he will do, it will be a great monument. I feel
sure of that. Such is my confidence in Borglum I know that if he
can make a good small model, he can also make a good large one.
To the sculptor this same Mr. Barringer made the following interesting
comment about facial expressions:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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