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| PROCTOR'S INDIAN - Not far from the Golden Door of the Transportation Building
stood two heroic statues, for the ornamentation of the lagoon, which
here took a sharp turn to the eastward. The Cowboy, seen in the distance, was the
companion-piece, and is also illustrated on these pages. Messrs.
Kemeys and Proctor were entrusted with the work of ornamenting the bridges and balustrades, and these two
groups fell to Proctor. A critic in the Chicago Daily Record wrote
of this statue, noting that the horse was done by inferior assistants
of Proctor: "The Indian, however, is one of the very best pieces of
sculptural work on the grounds. One reason is that is was modeled
from the life, according to the French rule, and the value of such
way of working is conspicuously shown when compared with other works
by the same sculptor not so modeled. One of Buffalo Bill's Indians -
Red Cloud - was the sculptor's model. He became very much interested
in the work and posed on his pony in all sorts of positions. The
attitude finally chosen is one of rest, but the expression is one of
intense eagerness and repressed action. The Indian puts his hand
over his eyes and intently gazes across the plain to the far horizon,
seeking his foe. The modeling is very fine indeed, the action, both
of the arms and legs, being given with great skill and fidelity to
nature." The reader will notice that Red Cloud should have been on
his own pony, and then the picture would have been complete. |
