International studio (57.1915/1916)

Anna Vaughn Hyatt's Statue

That is how I have thought of her; that is how I
have tried to model her.”
Great attention has been paid in this statue to
the cavalry mount, a splendid Norman horse,
and to the armour. With the exception of a small
headpiece, horse armour was not used in France
until some hundred and twenty years later.
Statues of Jeanne D’Arc where the steed is en-
cased in steel are anachronisms.
As for the maid herself, appeals to experts re-
vealed the fact that there is not in existence a
complete suit of Gothic armour of that period.
All the details were supplied to Miss Hyatt from
drawings only—rubbings of old tombs, old paint-
ings, figures in stone and bronze were studied,
and the data obtained by scholarly comparison
on the part of Dr. Bashford Dean of the Metro-
politan Museum and his assistants.
For the first time in all her sculptured life,
Jeanne D’Arc is correctly dressed. And it is not
stage armour, either; it fits the wearer, showing
the play of muscles underneath. While it is a
statue in armour, there is some one inside it. In-
deed, Miss Hyatt began with careful studies from
a nude model, and the armour was added later.
Gothic armour of the fifteenth century offers an
unusual opportunity to the sculptor. While it
was simple and plain, it was very beautiful in
line. But the important thing is, not to make
the armour beautiful, but to make it fit the
wearer, says Dr. Dean.
It is noteworthy that person after person who
saw the statue in the studio used the same word
in describing it, and that word was—convincing.
The sculpture represents no extremes, no futile
experimenting. Technically sound, the result of
years of thorough training plus hard and con-
tinuous labour, the workmanship of the statue
gives the spectator the feeling that Miss Hyatt is
certain of herself. The technique is there, but
underneath or in the background.
While not needlessly austere and plain, there
is no decoration, no ornamentation, -per se.
The loftiness of the conception is presented so
simply that it becomes all the more convincing.
The simplicity and dignity characteristic of the
sculptor shine out in her figure of Jeanne D’Arc.
It is the strength of her own conviction. The face
expresses her courage and fortitude, the great
and noble spirit animating her, the calm con-
sciousness of command and the calm uncon-
scious outward expression of it.

The base of the statue is built, in part, of stone
taken from the Rouen dungeon in which Jeanne
D’Arc was confined. The old prison was recently
torn down, and some of the great stones were
secured by the committee. They have been
skilfully worked into the base by the architect,
Mr. John Van Pelt, to whom is due the favorable
placing of the statue on the wooded knoll over-
looking Riverside Drive at Ninety-third Street.
The unveiling of the statue is not only a triumph
for the sculptor. It is of great importance to
women. For it is the first and only heroic
equestrian statue ever created by a woman.
Coming near, as it assuredly does, to being the
greatest equestrian statue in America, Miss
Hyatt’s success is an opening wedge for women
in this field of work. Frequently, sculptors of
talent and ability have been refused important
commissions, merely for the fact that they were
women. Gradually opinion changes and when,
in the future, great pieces of sculpture are
competed for by women, and successfully, Miss
Hyatt will be recognized as the pioneer, the
blazer of the trail. But it is to be kept in mind
that her Jeanne D’Arc won the coveted com-
mission judged by an absolute standard.
Perhaps of even more importance than to Miss
Hyatt, the statue represents a definite milestone
of progress for the city. The gift to the com-
munity of this Jeanne D’Arc, standing for years
of patient labour and study on the part of the
committee, the scholarly aid of experts, the
generous help of the municipal art commission
is an achievement unparalleled hitherto, and
rich in promise for the future. For “if we want
great statues for our city, our primary concern is
not to educate a sculptor to fashion them, for
the sculptor can educate himself; our concern is
rather to educate our citizens to desire them.”
1% /TODERN GALLERY
Mr. Marius De Zayas, director of the
Modern Gallery, has just returned from his
flying trip to Paris where he procured for the
Modern Gallery a series of unusual examples of
modern art, including work by Van Gogh, the
complete evolution of Picasso (including his very
last painting), Brancusi (his very last piece of
sculpture), important Cezannes, a new and rare
group of negro sculpture, etc., etc. The exhibition
opened November 22.

L