Christopher Lyman Magee Memorial
40°26′33″N 79°57′5″W / 40.44250°N 79.95139°W | |
Location | Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
---|---|
Designer | Augustus Saint-Gaudens (sculptor) Stanford White (architect) Henry Bacon (architect) |
Type | Drinking fountain |
Material | Bronze Granite |
Length | 16 feet 4 inches (4.98 m) |
Width | 37 feet 6 inches (11.43 m) |
Height | 22 feet (6.7 m) |
Beginning date | 1905 |
Completion date | 1907 |
Dedicated date | July 4, 1908 |
Dedicated to | Christopher Magee |
The Christopher Lyman Magee Memorial is a public
History
Background
Creation and dedication
Following Magee's death, an organization known as the C. L. Magee Memorial Association was established to coordinate the creation of a memorial in his honor.
In 1994, the memorial was surveyed as part of the Save Outdoor Sculpture! project.[6]
Design
The memorial is located in Schenley Park, near the entrance to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in the city's Oakland neighborhood.[2][5] Its primary structure is a granite stele featuring a bronze relief sculpture of a woman dressed in clothing from classical antiquity, including robes and a cape, representing Charity.[6] She is standing atop a rock and holds a cornucopia filled with fruits and flowers, while a branch from an oak tree is visible near the top of the relief.[6] Just above the figure's head is an inscription of a quote from Portia, a character in the play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, which reads: "THE QUALITY OF / MERCY IS NOT STRAINED / IT DROPPETH AS / THE GENTLE RAIN FROM / HEAVEN / UPON THE PLACE BENEATH / IT IS TWICE BLESSED / IT BLESSETH HIM / THAT GIVES AND / HIM THAT TAKES".[6] Other inscriptions on the relief include the year of its completion in the lower left in Roman numerals ("MCMVII") and the monogram of sculptor Saint-Gaudens (the letters "AST" surrounded by a large "G").[6][2] This front panel stands 22 feet (6.7 m) tall and is 4 feet (1.2 m) wide.[6] Decorations are present on the granite stele that frames the relief, and at the bottom is a bronze waterspout shaped like the head of a lion surrounded by a bronze wreath.[6] The stele is surrounded by a rectangular granite exedra that has dimensions of 37 feet 6 inches (11.43 m) by 16 feet 4 inches (4.98 m).[6][2] At one point, two drinking fountains were positioned on either end of this exedra and were fed cold drinking water from the nearby Carnegie building.[6] A plaque near the memorial reads "IN MEMORIAM/CHRISTOPHER LYMAN MAGEE".[6]
In sculpting the figure of Charity, Saint-Gaudens employed Davida, his favorite
References
- ^ a b c d e Dryfhout 1982, p. 297.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Evert 1983, p. 176.
- ^ a b Ferree 1909, p. 184.
- ^ a b Thomas 2011, p. 185.
- ^ a b c d e f Dryfhout 1982, p. 298.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Smithsonian Institution Research Information System.
- ^ Dryfhout 1982, p. 32.
- ^ Saint-Gaudens & Saint-Gaudens 1913, p. 329.
- ^ Evert 1983, pp. 176–177.
Sources
- Dryfhout, John H. (1982). The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Hanover, New Hampshire: ISBN 978-0-87451-287-8.
- Evert, Marilyn (1983). Discovering Pittsburgh's Sculpture. Photographs by Vernon Gay. Pittsburgh: ISBN 978-0-8229-3467-7.
- Ferree, Barr, ed. (1909). Year Book of the Pennsylvania Society. New York City: The Pennsylvania Society.
- Saint-Gaudens, Augustus; Saint-Gaudens, Homer (1913). Saint-Gaudens, Homer (ed.). The Reminiscences of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Vol. II. New York City: The Century Company.
- "Christopher Lyman Magee Memorial, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution Research Information System. Archivedfrom the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
- Thomas, Christopher A. (2011). "Bacon, Henry". In ISBN 978-0-19-533579-8.
Further reading
- Pitz, Marylynne (Summer 2018). "Top 5 favorite statues in the East End". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
External links
Media related to Christopher Lyman Magee Memorial at Wikimedia Commons