Sculpture by Elisabet Ney in two versions
Sam Houston
is a
statue
of
Sam Houston
by
Elisabet Ney
, originally modeled in 1892 and installed in 1905; it is part of the
National Statuary Hall Collection
in the
United States Capitol
in
Washington, D.C.
, as one of the two statues from
Texas
. The other Texas statue,
Stephen F. Austin
, is also by Ney and was produced in parallel. Another carving of
Sam Houston
is displayed in the
Texas State Capitol
, where it was installed in 1903.
[2]
The statue in the
Texas State Capitol
History
[
edit
]
In early 1892, the Texas government was preparing materials for a building at the
World's Columbian Exposition
to be held the following year in Chicago. Texas Governor
Oran Milo Roberts
recommended that the women's commission charged with fundraising for the exhibit speak with
Elisabet Ney
, a German?American sculptor residing in
Austin, Texas
. After a meeting, Ney was invited to sculpt portrait statues of
Sam Houston
and
Stephen F. Austin
for the exhibit, though the commission had no funds to pay the artist for her work.
[3]
: 86?87
Ney agreed and went to work first on the statue of Houston; by April 1892 she had completed a clay model of the piece and invited some of Houston's family and friends to preview it and assess the likeness. By the following July a
plaster
rendering of
Houston
had been finished, and the statue was publicly displayed in Ney's studio (now the
Elisabet Ney Museum
) prior to its transportation to Chicago for the Exposition.
[1]
: 135
The statue of Austin was completed too late to be displayed in Chicago,
[1]
: 141
but the Houston statue was well received, with the Exposition's Art Commission even offering the piece a space in the main fine arts building.
[3]
: 88
After the conclusion of the Exposition, Ney and the women's commission intended to cut editions of the Houston and Austin statues in marble for permanent display in the
Texas State Capitol
,
[1]
: 141?142
but it took years to secure the necessary funding. In 1901 the Texas Legislature appropriated the funds for the carving, and the two statues were unveiled in the Texas Capitol on January 19, 1903.
[4]
[3]
: 93
An additional copy of each statue was cut for submission to the
National Statuary Hall Collection
and unveiled in the
United States Capitol
in 1905.
[5]
Design
[
edit
]
Sam Houston
is a full-length
statue
in
marble
. It shows Houston standing on slightly uneven ground with his right foot forward, looking up and ahead into the distance. The right hand is held across the chest, while the left rests on the hilt of a
saber
hanging at the left hip. Houston is portrayed as a young pioneer, dressed in fringed
buckskins
and calf-length boots, with a Native American
sarape
thrown over his left shoulder. The front face of the self base (the marble platform on which the figure stands) is inscribed "
SAM HOUSTON
."
In composing the piece, Ney borrowed Houston's actual saber from his daughter, Maggie Williams, and rendered the weapon in authentic detail. The sarape was also a recreation of a characteristic piece of Houston's wardrobe, modeled on a similar blanket that Ney located for reference.
[1]
: 134
When critics complained that the Houston statue was 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) tall while the Austin statue was only 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm), she replied that these had been the actual heights of the men, and that anyone objecting should "take the issue up not with her but with God".
[1]
: 139
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Cutrer, Emily Fourmy (2016).
The Art of the Woman: The Life and Work of Elisabet Ney
. College Station, Texas:
Texas A&M University Press
.
ISBN
9781623494247
.
- ^
Fowler, Mike; Maguire, Jack (1988).
The Capitol Story: Statehouse in Texas
. Austin, Texas: Eakin Press. p. cs 12.
- ^
a
b
c
Taylor, Bride Neill (1938).
Elisabet Ney: Sculptor
. Austin, Texas: F. Taylor.
- ^
Fortune, Jan; Burton, Jean (1943).
Elisabet Ney
. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf
. pp. 242, 270.
- ^
Architect of the Capitol
(1965).
Compilation of Works of Art and Other Objects in the United States Capitol
. Washington:
United States Government Printing Office
. pp. 210?211.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
European sculptures
| |
---|
American sculptures
| |
---|
Museums
| |
---|
Related topics
| |
---|
|
---|
|
History
| |
---|
Monuments and
memorials
| Tennessee
| |
---|
Texas
| |
---|
Other places
| |
---|
Military
| |
---|
Public art
| |
---|
Misc
| |
---|
|
---|
Popular culture
| Television
| |
---|
Film
| |
---|
Publications
| |
---|
|
---|