DOI chapter:
Chapter I Mrs. Patience Wright speaks the Prologue
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.65493#0047
AMERICAN SCULPTURE
19
tive sculpture, largely because we lack-
ed the passion to create it. That
passion was not dead, but it lay dor-
mant during the long wintry season that
preceded the spring of our national
consciousness.
In the mean time, men and women
died, and had their humble carved
slate headstones; ships put out to sea,
glorying in their robust wooden figure-
heads of American make. Benjamin
West’s legendary adventure with his
cat’s-fur brushes and his Amerind
colors and his baby sister's likeness
no doubt had its sculptural counter-
part in the creative endeavor of many
an unknown fire-side whittler. These
obscure dramas of artistic effort
counted; though meagre and lowly,
they were not in vain; they made for
craftsmanship, art’s helper. Referring
to more important matters, we do not
forget William Rush’s full-length
statue of Washington, hewn from
SPEAKS THE PROLOGUE
19
tive sculpture, largely because we lack-
ed the passion to create it. That
passion was not dead, but it lay dor-
mant during the long wintry season that
preceded the spring of our national
consciousness.
In the mean time, men and women
died, and had their humble carved
slate headstones; ships put out to sea,
glorying in their robust wooden figure-
heads of American make. Benjamin
West’s legendary adventure with his
cat’s-fur brushes and his Amerind
colors and his baby sister's likeness
no doubt had its sculptural counter-
part in the creative endeavor of many
an unknown fire-side whittler. These
obscure dramas of artistic effort
counted; though meagre and lowly,
they were not in vain; they made for
craftsmanship, art’s helper. Referring
to more important matters, we do not
forget William Rush’s full-length
statue of Washington, hewn from
SPEAKS THE PROLOGUE