There is a compelling tribute to Carl Schurz in another thread (Sorry, I don't know how to make a link) so I thought I'd post something on the Schurz Monument over here in the Monument Section. The pictures that I use here are better than the slides I took in 1988 or so and come from Ferdinand Schevill's "Karl Bitter: A Biography" published by the University of Chicago Press in 1917, making them copy-write free. Schurz died in 1906 and Bitter was awarded the commission for the memorial two years later partly because he had made a death mask of Schurz immediately following his demise. Bitter was to work on the monument for the next five years, the whole approach to the piece changing several times during that time. The work was dedicated on May 10, 1913. It is artistically significant because it bridged the gap between the previously popular Beaux-Arts style and the just emerging archaic Greek style, the latter being found in the three bas relief panels. The themes on the panels include references to Schurz' "liberal" dealings with both Native Americans and African-Americans and thus these days, remembering what has just happened to the Teddy Roosevelt equestrian statue that also included both groups, places the whole ensemble in possible jeopardy. But I won't tall anyone if you don't.
The entire monument, including an exedra (meaning that there were seating areas built in) consists of several different parts, a nine foot tall bronze statue of Schurz, which author James Dennis describes as a "carefully detailed portrait of a cantankerous old man." Reynolds in "Monuments & Masterpieces", a bit more. . .. generous, calls it "pensive." Other parts on the monument consists of benches and three allegorical panels. Another casting of just the statue of Schurz was unveiled in Oshkosh, WI in 1914.
The architectural setting for the monument was done by Henry Bacon and the carving of the granite panels was executed by the Piccirilli Brothers. These are both names that everyone should be familiar with, if for no other reason than they performed the same function at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
The entire monument, including an exedra (meaning that there were seating areas built in) consists of several different parts, a nine foot tall bronze statue of Schurz, which author James Dennis describes as a "carefully detailed portrait of a cantankerous old man." Reynolds in "Monuments & Masterpieces", a bit more. . .. generous, calls it "pensive." Other parts on the monument consists of benches and three allegorical panels. Another casting of just the statue of Schurz was unveiled in Oshkosh, WI in 1914.
The architectural setting for the monument was done by Henry Bacon and the carving of the granite panels was executed by the Piccirilli Brothers. These are both names that everyone should be familiar with, if for no other reason than they performed the same function at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
Bringing the