CHICAGO SCULPTURE in the Loop

HENRY HERING and JAMES EARLE FRASER. The Michigan Avenue Bridge

In 1920, with thanks due Daniel Burnham and Ed Bennett (although maybe not in that order), Michigan Avenue spanned the Chicago River. The Bridge, was, is, an elegant construction. A double decked bascule punctuated with four Beaux Arts bridge towers. (More on this in future posts at Chicago Architecture in the Loop.) Henry Hering, commissioned by the Benjamin Franklin Ferguson Monument Fund, sculpted "Defense" and "Regeneration" for the south Bridge Towers. James Earle Fraser, who was funded by William Wrigley, created "Explorers" and Pioneers" for the North Towers. Both had trained under Augustus Saint Gaudens, who had been an artistic advisor to the Columbian Exposition of 1893.

No group of sculpture in the City is more difficult to fully appreciate. The symmetry and architectural impact of the bridge towers relegates these major pieces of sculpture to ornament. The similarities of composition overshadow their differences. And their high traffic location almost precludes the "quiet moment" that sculpture takes to understand.

Not that I'm not complaining very loudly. These four pieces are entirely appropriate ornament for what is arguably the most important Bridge on the most important Avenue in the most important City between New York and the West Coast. Still, they each deserve time and care. More to follow.

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AMY ALDIS BRADLEY. LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY. The MacArthur Foundation.

Thank Amy Aldis Bradley for the "idealized" Louis Jolliet at the Marquette Building. For more of the story visit the MacArthur Foundation's fine new website here.

It's not my imagination. This Native American does have a mustache. And looks, maybe, Italian??

HENRY HERING. Running Diana

Even history's very successful figural sculptors were not completely occupied with major commissions. This smalll "Running Diana" is a work from the same Sculptor who is responsible for the two tableaux on the south towers of Edward Bennett's Michigan Avenue Bridge.

PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. LINK TO THE ORIGINAL

Continuing comparisons from the previous post, Hering's nudes are not the sensuous compositions that mark Lorado Taft's work. This one shows great delicacy (and the influence of Hering's mentor, Augustus Saint Gaudens). Both, however, worked side-by side with women in their studios. Taft with Nellie Walker. And Hering with his wife Elsie Ward, an accomplished sculptor in her own right.

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PORNOGRAPHY. NUDES. Looky Here. A Post You Won't Forget!

I've received three phone calls since my last post: a list of Henry Hering's Sculpture in Chronological order. With no pictures. All three phone calls had the same gist: if you expect your blog to survive (ie "keep traffic") you're going to have to do better than that. Okay. I've read about this stuff too. Chicago Art Magazine knows the value a "sandbox fight." I, too, have seen them in action. (Argghhh. Grrrrr.) And there's the scare tactic. But its the day after Christmas and I don't feel so scary. And why even try when there's PORNOGRAPHY. Pornography always sells.

So in order to make up for that Hering thing, today I post NAKED MEN AND WOMEN and list them as "keywords." The photographs are a study of Lorado Taft's 1907 "Pastoral" at the Garfield Park Conservatory. The fern garden, today, was A VERY STEAMY PLACE.

We probably would have "gotten it" without the rabbit. Come to think about it, Lorado Taft's work is still "suggestive." Taft's "Fountain of the Great Lakes" actually brought about a review of the City of Chicago's Obscenity Ordinance. "Solitude of the Soul still evokes comment. The additional publicity brought both fame and notoriety to Taft. Maybe, maybe the tactic will work again.

Taft and Hering had much in common. Both are early twentieth century sculptors with significant bodies (another keyword) of work in Chicago. Both worked in "Studios" with a team of sculptors: Hering in the Cornish, Taft at the Midway. And both failed to make the transition to Deco. (eg. failed to monetize their product).

I'm glad I have a sense of humor.

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HENRY HERING. Chronology of Work and Life

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Henry Hering's contributions weren't limited to Chicago. Below is a general timeline/chronology of his life and work.
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1874.02.15
Born. New York City

1888.00.00
Began Study at Cooper Union, New York
Student of Augustus Saint Gaudens
Student of Philip Martiny

1888.00.00 to 1891.00.00
At Saint Gaudens New York Studio

1891.00.00 to 1893.00.00
Columbian Expostion
Saint Gaudens. Columbian Exposition Artistic Advisor
Philip Martiny Fine Arts Building

1894.00.00 to 1898.00.00
Art Students League. New York

1898.00.00 to 1901.00.00
Ecole des Beaux Arts

1901.00.00 though 1907.00.00
Saint Gaudens Principal Assistant
Cornish Studios. Cornish, New Hampshire

1901.00.00
Caryatids (under Saint Gaudens)
Albright Knox Museum
Buffalo, New York

1907.00.00
Ten and Twenty Dollar Gold Pieces
(For Saint Gaudens.)

1910.00.00
Bust of Saint Gaudens

1910.06.00
Married Elsie Ward
(previously Saint Gaudens Assistant)

1913.00.00
"Memory, Peace, Courage, Devotion"
Yale Civil War Memorial
New Haven Connecticut.

1919.00.00 "Relief Figures."
Federal Reserve Bank. (GAPW)
Kansas City, Missouri

1919.00.00 Garlanded Angels
Attic Figures
Museum of Science and Industry (Replacements)
Chicago, Illinois

1923.00.00 "Energy in Repose."
Federal Reserve Bank.(Walker & Weeks)
Cleveland, Ohio

1923.00.00 Elsie Ward Hering Dies.

1925.00.00 "Law." "Science" "Religion" "Education"
Civic Center (Walker & Weeks)
Indianapolis, Indiana

1928.00.00 "Defense" and "Regeneration"
Michigan Avenue Bridge. (1920) Edward Bennett
Chicago, Illinois
Gift of William Wrigley to the BF Ferguson Monument Fund

1928.00.00 "Olin Library"
Wesleyan University
Middletown, Connecticut

1929.00.00 Pro Patria
Indiana War Memorial, (Walker & Weeks)
Indianapolis, Indiana

1931.00.00 L'Allegro

1932.00.00 "Pere Marquette" (with Walker & Weeks)
Marquette Park.
Gary, Indiana

1932.00.00 Guardians of Traffic
Lorain-Carnegie Bridge (Walker & Weeks)
Cleveland, Ohio

1932.00.00 Pediment
Serverance Hall (Walker & Weeks)
Cleveland, Ohio

1932.00.00 Wood Nymph
Brookgreen Gardens
Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

1934.00.00 "Abraham Lincoln"
University Park.
Indianapolis, Indiana

1945.07.28 B25 Bomber Crashed into Empire State Building
Wreckage fell into Hering's Studio below
The Waldorf. 10 East 33rd Street, New York.

Running Diana

American Eagle Book-ends

1949.01.17
Died in New York City

The secret hidden in this list is how much Henry might have depended on Elsie Ward, who gave up her career to assist his during the years 1910-1923.

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HENRY HERING. The Michigan Avenue Bridge

It's not so far from the Museum of Science and Industry at 57th Street to the Michigan Avenue Bridge. But in this distance Henry Hering spanned a Century and became an accomplished Sculptor. Compare the work posted here to the previously posted Caryatids. These two "Spirits" -- "Regeneration" and "Defense" are the work of a man at the peak of his career.

The early twentieth century was a confusing time to portray Native Americans. Especially in Chicago. Noble savage? Or the Tribe that massacred Grandma? The Spirit (shown above) was at Fort Dearborn. The Spirit below inspired the City to rebuild after the Fire.

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