$100,000 Lee-Jackson Statue May Be Ready Within Year

Municipal Art Society Gets Report On Memorial Considered One Of Finest In World

Within a year, it was predicted yesterday, “one of the finest monuments in the world” will come to Baltimore to be set up in Wyman Park, its permanent home.

This will take place with the completion of the Lee-Jackson heroic memorial statue, for which $100,000 was donated to the Municipal Art Society by J. Henry Ferguson when he died in 1928.

The money was not made available by the terms of the will until October, 1934, with the death of Mr. Ferguson’s sister.

Won In Competition

The sculptress. Mrs. Laura Gardin Fraser, of New York, was chosen in a limited competition in June, 1936, by a committee selected by Mr. Ferguson before his death.

In a report submitted yesterday to Douglas Huntly Gordon and William

J. Casey, president and treasurer, respectively, of the Art Society, by Roland J. McKinney, it was pointed out that the statue rapidly is nearing completion in Mrs. Fraser’s Westport (Conn.) studio and should be “complete and ready for its location on the site at Wyman Park within twelve months.”

The memorial, a huge equestrian figure in bronze, depicts the parting of Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson at Chancellorsville, just before Jackson was mortally wounded. It will stand at least eleven feet high, it is said.

Former Head Of Museum

Mr. McKinney, who is a former director of the Baltimore Museum of Art, is art director of the Municipal Art Society. In his report he said, “It is evident Mrs. Fraser is treating her commission seriously and is doing a brilliant job.”

Mr. Gordon and Mr. Casey, both of whom have kept in close touch with the progress of the work, declared the statue is expected to be “one of the finest monuments in the world” and “a great masterpiece.”

Mr. Gordon predicted the memorial will go to the bronze foundry for casting in June.

Mr. McKinney, Mr. Gordon and Mr. Casey took the opportunity to emphasize that the sculptress’ task is no casual job, and that the statue is being finished well on time despite criticism of “delay” from several sources.

Twelve Years In Making

Mr. McKinney said when Saint-Gaudens modeled the Sherman monument for New York “he was twelve f years doing the commission.” Mr. Gordon said the Robert Gould Shaw memorial in Boston, also by Saint-Gaudens, and rated by experts as one of the nation’s finest memorials, took seventeen years to finish.

Therefore, it was agreed, the Lee-Jackson memorial is being executed well ahead of schedule. Mr. McKinney added: “I would earnestly urge the committee to be patient and wait quietly until the job is finished.”

He said if for any unexpected reason an extension of time becomes necessary, for the sake of good workmanship, the committee should grant it.

Must Study Work

The sculptress must study each part of the statue after it finally is completed in the clay, he said, to make sure they are properly related and there are no inaccuracies in proportion.

Mr. McKinney added that no major changes can be made after the memorial is turned over to the foundry and is cast in bronze.

The final clay model of the monument was not molded immediately from the one-sixth-size plaster model that won the competition, it was explained by Mr. Gordon. Two other models were made, he said.

First a one-third-size model was pointed in clay, and a copy of this model was made to be placed in fireproof storage in case a later model should be destroyed.

Imperfections Ironed Out

In the transition from small scale model to huge memorial, imperfections were ironed out that were not visible in the smaller size. Extra detail was also added, it was explained.

On difficulty int he execution was created by lack of a green Italian clay with an oil base that is used for such memorials. Several projects underway in large studios in the country had depleted the supply, and due to conditions abroad some difficulty was experienced getting more from Italy.

No definite plans have been made for the unveiling at Wyman Park. but it is expected that the event will be a military occasion with visitors from many States throughout the South.

Also Designed Museum

The base of the statue, already finished, was designed by the late John Russell Pope, the architect who designed the Museum of Art. The statue’s setting was planned to blend with the surroundings.

The base carries two inscriptions: on the front, “The parting of General Lee and Stonewall Jackson on the eve of Chancellorsville,” and on one side, “They were great generals and Christian soldiers and waged war like gentlemen.”

In asking for the two inscriptions in his will, Mr. Ferguson described the generals as “my boyish heroes.”