International studio (23.1904)

I he Artistic Ensemble of the World’s Fair

arched entrance. The effect is quite monumental
in character, proclaiming the huge extent of the
building at the back and the need and possibility of
free approach and exit. It is, in fact, not only an
impressive addition to the ensemble, but a practical
contribution to the subject of station designing.
The other most notable example of original design
is represented in the Palace of Mines and Metal-
lurgy, of which the architect was Mr. Theodore C.
Link, of St. Louis. Oblong in plan, the main
features of its design are a tiled roof, with extended
eaves frankly announcing the timber construction
of the interior ; an arcaded faqade formed of square
pillars rising from the base line, alternating with
smaller pillars that stand in pairs upon a curtain wall
which spans the space between the main ones ; and
square portals, flanked by obelisks and surmounted
by a roof which rises in steps to a circular altar-
shaped structure which supports a globular dome.
The contrast between the simple uplift of these
entrances with the low level lines of the rest of the
building; the quiet assertion of the roof, which in
most of the buildings is obscured by the cornice;
the cool and ample suggestion of the overhanging
eaves ; the interesting diversity of the arcades, and
the harmonious proportion with which all these
details have been combined render this a very
striking building and one which I find gains in
impressiveness the more one becomes familiar with
it. In correspondence with the sobriety and static
character of the whole design is the treatment of
sculptural accessories. They have been kept in a
proper subordination. Over the small entrances at
the corners of the building are figures of miners by
F. W. Ruckstuhl, which in their quiet realism
strike the note of practical and serious purposes
that distinguishes the whole conception ; the faqade
is encircled by a frieze in low relief by Theodore
Bauer, and decorative adjuncts to the domes have
been supplied by Rudolph Schwartz. The details
of the capitals of the smaller pillars are better
imagined than the more florid accompaniments of
the larger ones ; yet at sufficient distance these, too,
lend their assistance satisfactorily to the light and
shadow scheme.
As a rule, the sculptural decorations of the build-
ings will not perhaps commend themselves to
thoughtful appreciation. The general impression is
one of crudity, — reliance upon quantity rather than
quality, — with much tiresome repetition of forms
uninteresting in themselves ; an affectation of French
vivacity without French tact; slovenly modelling
and finishing, as of stuff turned out grossly under
imperfect supervision, so that there is little evi-
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dence of the artistic feeling which the sculptor may
have put into the original model. In fact, there
would be little advantage in any attempt to special-
ize, for it is only here and there that a statue or a
group arrests and holds one’s interest.
Foremost among those which do is the Statue of
St. Louis, by Charles H. Niehaus, a vigorous and
impressive mass, handled with as much ease as dig-
nity, in which respect it is superior to the De Soto
by E. C. Potter and the Joliet by A. P. Proctor,
for both of these equestrian statues, while full of
spirit and possessed of commanding qualities, have
something of a conscious ceremonialism in the com-
position. Particularly, also, may be commended
the high relief by Niehaus on the base of his statue
representing The City of St. Louis and Guiding
Spirits. It involves some well-considered nude
modelling and excellent arrangement of draperies,
and, moreover, character in the figures and fine
feeling, —qualities very rare in exposition sculpture.
One may hope, indeed, that this whole conception
is destined to be reproduced in permanent form.
At the opposite end of the Plaza, on which it tem-
porarily stands, are two horse groups by Solon H.
Borglum, Cowboy Testing and Pioneer Looking for
Shelter. They were originally designed in statuette
size, so that the breadth and economy of modelling,
then very admirably adjusted to the whole, offer
now, when they have been reproduced on a large
scale, a certain barrenness of effect. Yet, even so,
these statues hold their own in composition and
sentiment very well, and have a peculiar appropri-
ateness to the occasion. So, too, have C. E.
Dallin’s two figures of mounted Indians, which are
well placed at the foot of the Cascade ascent. They
exhibit so fine a quality of imagination, so much
truth and artistic capacity, as to stand out amid the
profusion of undigested technical problems and slip-
shod sentiment with emphatic conspicuousness.
And how one welcomes such an exception ! For
in traversing and retraversing a great scene like this,
where sculpture bristles at you on every side, you
experience a bewilderment and sinking of the
spirits. Out of so much it is but little that has any
intrinsic magnetism ; one loses heart at the fatuity
of piling Pelion upon Ossa, and at the detriment to
American art and public taste which such profligacy
and sloppiness may involve.
In a general way, another exception to these stric-
tures is to be found in the series of fourteen seated
statues which commemorate the States andTerritories
included in the Louisiana Purchase. The adoption
of a certain uniformity of composition gives them
collectively and individually an impressiveness, while