| Artist | Rudolf Schwarz |
|---|---|
| Year | 1907 |
| Type | Bronze, granite |
| Dimensions | 480 cm × 192 cm × 192 cm (120 in × 48 in × 48 in) |
| Location | Indiana Statehouse, Indianapolis |
| Owner | State of Indiana |
Oliver P. Morton and Reliefs, is a public artwork by Austrian artist Rudolf Schwarz, located on the East side of the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the intersection of North Capitol Avenue and West Market Street.
Contents |
The Oliver P. Morton memorial is composed of three bronze statues and two bronze reliefs, one plaque on the front, and two plaques on the rear, also of bronze. The pedestals on which the statues stand are made of granite. Oliver Perry Morton stands positioned in the center, raised above the other two figures by a full figure's height. Two Union soldiers flank either side of Morton.[1] One of those soldiers is placed on the proper left holding a bayonet and is uniformed. The other soldier is placed on the proper right holding a rifle and wearing a sword on his proper left. This figure is uniformed as well. Below the figures at the base of the pedestals are two flags crossed with olive branches, and there is an oak wreath of leaves and acorns in the center. The reliefs are located on the proper right and proper left of the statues. The relief that is proper left is facing south. It shows Oliver P. Morton giving a speech. The relief that is proper left is facing north. It shows him standing in an infirmary tent. On the proper rear of the memorial are two plaques. The top plaque is located on the pedestal of Morton. It says:
Oliver Perry Morton Born in Wayne Co. Indiana August 4, 1823.
Died in Indianapolis November 1, 1877.
Aged 54 years 2 months and 25 days.
Admitted to the Bar in 1847.
Served as Governor of Indiana from January 18, 1861 to March 4, 1867.
Served as U.S. Senator from Indiana from March 4, 1867 until his death November 1, 1877.
In all ways and at all times the friend of the Union soldier. The friend of the country.
The upholder of Abraham Lincoln.
The defender of the flag and the Union of the States. Patriot. Statesman.
Lover of Liberty. Heroic in heart.
Inflexible in purpose and ever to be known in history as
The Great War Governor
On the plaque below the first on the lower part of the pedestal are the words:
The annual meeting held in June, 1904, The Department of Indiana.
Grand Army of the Republic.
An organization of the honorably discharged soldier and sailors who served in the Army and Navy to preserve the integrity of the Republic of the United States of America, in the Great Civil War from A.D. 1861 to 1865, memorialized the legislature of the State of Indiana to appropriate sufficient money to erect this monument to perpetuate the memory of
Oliver Perry Morton
The Great War Governor of Indiana during that period.
As seen on the memorial label, the memorial was installed in 1907. The work was commissioned by the Indiana General Assembly.[2]
The planning of the Morton memorial began in early 1906. On February 9, 1906, the Commission met and designs were presented by Franklin Simmons from Rome, Italy; Hugh A. Price from Chicago, Ill.; and Rudolf Schwarz from Indianapolis, Indiana, for bronze figures 12 feet high and the tablets for $9000. The designs for the pedestals were planned upon contract with John R. Lowe and if accepted, architect fees would be for the same. Plans by Lowe were accepted and after legal notice was given in the newspapers, bids for the pedestals were received on April 10, 1906. The bid of Chas. G. Blake & Co. out of Chicago, Illinois was accepted for $7,483 of Barre granite and $10,150 of Westerly granite.[3]
Soon after, officers of the state designated the space of the memorial as "Morton Plaza." The dimensions of the pedestals were then increased and the contractors were allowed $935 in addition to the original commission price. On June 4, 1906, the contract for Schwarz to create the first part for the letters of the name "Morton" was created. The second part was for the 4.5 x 5 foot historic tablet that gives a brief history of life and services of Governor Morton. The third part of the contract was a Grand Army tablet that is two feet six inches by eight feet. The fourth part was for two bronze statues of soldiers of the Civil War, each ten feet high. All of these components of the commission paid Schwarz only $7,500.[3]
Two balustrades were then placed on the north and south ends of Morton Plaza. The Commission chose Chas. G. Blake & Co. once again. Rudolf Schwarz received another contract to provide and furnish the materials for two bronze bas-reliefs to go on the middle columns of the balustrades for $500 apiece.
The bas-relief of the south balustrade dedicates a scene to the women of the war. It is explained as "...while some were supplying clothing and hospital supplies, others went down to the very border line of danger to help nurse back to health the sick and wounded, when possible." The north bas-relief portrays a familiar war scene of the reception of homecoming veterans.[3]
The materials for the foundation that the pedestals sit upon is deeply laid solid masonry of limestone and cement. The pedestal itself weighs 32 tons and required 16 horses to move it from the car to the place where it is now. The bronze of the monument weighs approximately 16,000 pounds. 8,000 of that is attributed just to the Morton figure. The bronze is composed of 90% copper, 8% tin, and 2% zinc. The same makeup goes for the balustrades and reliefs.[3]
Oliver Perry Throck Morton, Morton's grandson, unveiled the memorial at the age of 8. After the dedication, the only unfinished work that needed to be done was the paving of the plaza. Crushed granite and granite steps were installed in little time at the price of $1,139.75. The total amount that was spent on the project was $36,544.40.[3]
Oliver Perry Morton was the first Indiana native to be governor of Indiana. He was born in Salisbury, Indiana in Wayne County.[2] The family's name was originally Throckmorton, known by the emigration of Morton's grandfather from England around the beginning of the Revolutionary War whom settled in New Jersey. Oliver's father was James T. Morton from New Jersey who married his mother whose maiden name was Sarah Miller.[4] When he was young he worked as a hatter's apprentice for four years before attending college at Miami University in Ohio. He studied law in Centerville, Indiana and at law school in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2] Morton began his career reading in the office of Judge Newman of Centerville.
Morton was originally a Democrat and opposed to the extension of slavery, but he became one of the organizers of the Republican Party. After he joined the Republicans, in 1856 he was of three delegates from Indiana that attended the Pittsburgh convention. In 1856 he was nominated by his new party for the position of governor.[4] In 1860 he was elected lieutenant governor on the ticket with Henry S. Lane. He became governor when Lane was elected to the United States Senate. Morton was re-elected to serve as governor in 1864 until 1867 in which he was elected to the United States Senate.[2] He was re-elected in 1873 to the Senate. Among his achievements was establishment of the fifteenth amendment, he was involved in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, and he was a trusted advisor of the Republicans of the south. In 1876 at the national Republican convention he received a next to the highest number of ballots for presidential nomination.[4] He was considered a leading Radical Republican during his government career. He died on November 1, 1877.
Rudolf Schwarz first gained his reputation by being commissioned to work on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in 1899 after he won the final international design competition, originally implemented in 1877 with German architect Bruno Schmitz, who began work on the monument. Schwarz, a native of Vienna, Austria, had worked with Schmitz on many projects in Germany. This specific project led Schwarz to Indianapolis.[5]
Rudolf Schwarz was born in Vienna in June 1866. He attended the Real Schule, similar to America's high school, for eight years. Afterward, he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts where his work was recognized and where he received many prizes. Karl Bitter, a New York sculptor that attended the Academy with Schwarz introduced him to stone-carving. Bitter describes Schwarz in their younger days:
"Schwarz attracted me very much. His manly bearing, his fondness for athletic exercise, his straightforwardness, and particularly his quick and vivid mind, made him one of the most promising pupils of the Academy. To his influence during these years I owe a great deal, especially in physical development. He supplied our class with dumbbells, which became our favorite exercise. He was the kind of young man in every respect that I should like my son to be; for with his coming a new ideal, striving, entered the hearts of the other students." [6]
In 1887 when the competition for the Soldiers and Sailors Monument began, Bruno Schmitz, who was first commissioned for the work realized he needed to bring Schwarz to Indianapolis. Schmitz located him in the ateliers of Berlin and both went to Indianapolis to work on the monument.
Rudolf lived a simple life, almost secluded. He was not known among the public. He created a studio on East Raymond Street on the south side of Indianapolis. His studio was more or less a shed that was below ground. He had an assistant who was also his model who would dress in costumes for the figures that Schwarz would be designing. Schwarz made his creations using the reproductive wax process, which was previously used in Italy for small castings.
About working as an artist, Schrawtz says: "It requies some nerve for a young man to choose art as a career. An artist sometimes does not know how to meet the problems that come up. He must have the greatest conceivable amount of patience if he wishes to achieve success. Art as well as any other work takes perseverance." [6]
For the last seven years of his life, Schwarz created and directed a class in sculpture from 1905 to 1912 at the John Herron Art School, now known as Herron School of Art. Rudolf Schwarz died on April 14, 1912 at the age of forty-seven.[7]
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