Stanford White and Augustus Saint-Gaudens were two of the late 19th Century’s enfan terribles in art and architecture. Most readers know Saint-Gaudens from his work on Boston Common honoring the 54th Massachusetts and Col. Shaw. White drew up plans for many New York City buildings including the original Madison Square Garden and the Arch at Washington Square Park. Unfortunately, White is best known for having been assassinated by a lover’s (or rape victim’s) husband.
Why are these two men the subject of a book review since both were too young to serve in the Civil War? Because they made some of the most outstanding works of historical statuary that told the history of that war to the general public and that lionized some of the warriors and actions of the War of the Rebellion.
In 1875, the young architect Stamford White was walking through Union Square in Manhattan when he heard a voice “roaring” a movement of Beethoven. White was intrigued. He went into the building where the singer was. He could hear the voice coming from an artist’s studio. He made his way to the studio and there he found Augustus Saint-Gaudens at work on his first great creation, a statue of Admiral David Farragut. The two young artists hit it off right away and would remain friends and coworkers for the rest of their lives.
Saint-Gaudens was an Irish-born artist from the lower class who was an apprentice to existing sculptors from who he learned his trade. When “Gus” met “Stan” he immediately imposed imposed on the young architect to build a pedestal for his first work of public art, the Statue of Admiral David Farragut for Madison Square Park in Manhattan. This would be the first of dozens monuments the two would work on. They were the first architect and sculptor in America to form a decades-long partnership to construct this visual history. While they worked together to create their monuments, they also pitched in to get commissions for sculpture that was only an idea when they proposed it to the wealthy benefactors who funded the monumentation. The supported each other, sustained one another against their doubters, and rewarded each other for their achievements.
Both Gus and Stan were not caught up in Victorian confinements. Gus had a mistress who lived near his home in Cornish, New Hampshire. Stan preyed on a number of young New York women who were decades younger than he. Stan fixed his eyes late in his life on Evelyn Nesbit, the original model of the “Gibson Girl.” He began seeing her when she was only sixteen. Years later she said that while she was on a “date” with him in their first few months of their relationship, White raped her. White’s friends questioned this accusation because she continued to see him for more than two years after the rape. However, as a teenage girl of limited resources, she needed to keep a relationship with the rich and powerful White. In 1906, Evelyn’s new husband walked into Madison Square Garden and shot White, killing him.
Gus blamed Nesbit’s mother who wanted her girl to find a male sponsor. He said; “it was entirely the mother—the mother practically sold her to Stanford White.” Whether he was right, he was defending his dead friend.
Stan and Gus is a very lively account of the partnership between the two men.
If you are interested in the developing public art scene in late-19th Century New York or in the history of Civil War monuments, you will find this book a great read even though it ends in rape and murder.
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