MAURY STATUE COMPLETED

Above is the figure of Matthew Fontaine Maury, the work of F. William Sievers, and the principal part of the Maury Monument to be erected on Monument Avenue.

Figure of Pathfinder of Sea Completed by Local Sculptor

Statue of Maury, Surrounded by Symbolical Group, Will Stand at Intersection of Monument an Belmont Avenues.

By Virginia Lee Cox.

A dream of years is nearing fulfillment in the quiet Forest Hill Studio of Richmond’s noted sculptor, F. William Sievers, for today in that room which has been the scene of the making of so many beautiful things, there sits completed the figure of Matthew Fontaine Maury, which is to be the principal part of the monument to be erected by the Matthew Fontaine Maury Association at the intersection of Monument and Belmont Avenues.

It is a marvelous conception of the man who was admired as the “Path-finder of the Seas,” and beloved for his humanity. Just how wonderful it is, is proved in the words of Commodore Maury’s own daughter, Mrs. James R. Werth, who, when she saw the finished figure of Mr. Sievers’ skill, said: “I feel as if I am sitting in the presence of my father in flesh, blood and spirit; I feel as if I could put my arms around his neck as •1 did when I was a little girl.”

Will Make Mold.

The plaster mold for the bronze foundry is to be made immediately and the casting will be done as soon as that is ready. Meantime the contract for the granite pedestal on which the statue is to rest will be let, and Mr. Sievers will proceed with the group of figures which completes the ensemble.

The sculptor has portrayed Maury in a reminiscent attitude, listening to the voice of the storm. It has been said of him that the voice of the wind and waves was music to his ears and Mr. Sievers, with fine sympathy and originality, built on much study of the man, has succeeded in showing this.

Above the figure of Maury, which is seated in a great chair, there is a group of figures which supports the globe. The figures represent a storm on land and sea. At one corner of the monument is an ox around which cluster the windswept figures of the farmer and his household, driven before the fury of the storm.

Drenched By Waves.

At the other corner is an overturned boat and figures of women and sailors, drenched in the thundering waves of the sea. The group embraces a symbolization of the world and its natural elements. Through the allegorization three of Maury’s outstanding achievements are brought well to the foreground —meteorology, hydrography, and geography.

The storm is a meteorological disturbance, and the capsized lifeboat with its occupants amid the rolling waves is symbolic of ocean meteorology, a branch of hydrography, which is symbolic also in the “paths of the sea” on the globe, that naturally represents geography.

“Paths of Sea.”

On the plinth of the monument in the flattest relief are figures of fish, representing Maury’s interest in the paths of the sea. The story goes that once when Maury was ill he had his son read the Bible to him each night. One night he read the eighth Psalm, and when he came to the passage — “The fishes of the sea and whatsoever walketh through the paths of the sea”-Maury had him read it over several times. Finally he said, “If God says there are paths in the sea I am going to find them if I get out of this bed.” Thus the Psalm was the direct inspiration for his discoveries.

Mr. Sievers has shown Maury in a reminiscent mood, representing him at that period of his life when he had achieved his greatest discoveries. In his right hand are the pencil and the compass, and In his left hand a chart. Against his chair is the Bible, from which he drew inspiration for his explorations. The sculptor has caught amazingly the spirit of the man.

Mr. Sievers will continue work on the allegorical figures which are to complete the monument—the small models of this group give promise of great beauty. One is glad that Richmond, through the efforts of Mr. Sievers and the Maury Association, is to have this monument, and glad too that the intersection at Monument and Belmont Avenues is to be arranged with suitable space for its beauty.