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One day, two dear friends of mine drove this masterpiece that commemorates
from Boston to meet me. Patricia Harris and Colonel Robert
David Lyon are professional travel writers Gould Shaw and the first all-Black
who have written many guidebooks about regiment in the Northeast during the Civil War.
New England, so I knew they would offer The faces of each soldier in this bronze relief
exceptional experiences here. sculpture are astonishingly realistic and
They took me to Saint-Gaudens National emotionally revealing.
Historical Park in Cornish, New Hampshire, Pat and David also took me to Hanover,
which was the home and studio of Augustus New Hampshire, to descend to the ground
Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), one of floor of Baker Library at Dartmouth College to
America’s greatest sculptors. He lived here view one of the college’s greatest treasures:
mainly from 1885 to 1907, when he died. “The Epic of American Civilization” by Jose
Saint-Gaudens’ public monuments are Clemente Orozco, a room-filling mural painted
his greatest legacy, and include the by the Mexican artist from 1932-1934. “The
Sherman Monument in New York’s Central mural features provocative themes and
Park and his “Standing Lincoln” in Chicago, haunting imagery that continue to resonate
“one of the finest representations of the with audiences today,” says the college brochure.
Civil War president, infused with both This astounding work centers on very
realism and idealism.” On display at this human, political and natural struggles
historic site are duplicates of his sculptural throughout American history. It was intended
achievements. by the artist as “a representation of a continent
Perhaps his greatest work is The Shaw characterized by the duality of indigenous and
Memorial unveiled in Boston in 1897. It European historical experiences,” according to
took Saint-Gaudens 14 years to complete the brochure. I think it would take months to
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