Valley Girl Views: Tangled Tangents - Frankeberger, Little, French & Dodge

Tangled Tangents -

The "Lost" Canterbury Murals by Rena Frankeberger, Bronze Emerson Bust by the same sculptor that sculpted the Lincoln Monument in Washington D.C., And My Disappointment In Missing Out on An Event That Occurred in Williamsport in 1919, Featuring All Of Those Items And More.

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In January 1919, there was a "Brilliant Exhibits of Pictures" at the Williamsport High School. I am extremely disappointed to have missed it.

One of the Canterbury Murals from Frankebergers 1918 Project

The program included the Canterbury Frieze (If you have seen the Frankenberger murals at Curtin School in Williamsport, the Chaucer murals were one of her earlier projects, as art director in the Williamsport Schools).

Another room exhibited works by J. Wesley Little, where locals could view work that had recently "delighted connoisseurs who have viewed them at the Chicago Art Institute, and the Philadelphia Water Color Club."

Also available for viewing was the new "French Room", which was named for sculptor Daniel Chester French exhibited not only photos of the sculptors work, but also an actual bronze bust of Emerson, gifted to the school by the artist. One of the photos in the room was of the sculpture

And there was also a display of local scenes painted by C. Reginald Thomson, who assisted with the Canterbury Murals as well.

Wouldn't this be the most amazing fundraiser, if it could somehow be re-assembled today?

(Full Article At The Bottom Of the Page)

This research all started after my visit to the Curtin School to see Frankebergers Hiawatha Murals this week. Painted in the 1930s, the murals were packed away in 1985, in rather pitiful condition. They had been displayed in the 3rd floor cafeteria, where years of grime had accumulated, and they had also been hacked away at for various outlets and signs to be added over the years. The murals were restored over a 3 year period by Mickey Mapstone, and today they are on the first floor of the Cutin school, lining the halls, behind glass, and constantly on display. This alone is pretty amazing.

But when I had first learned of these murals, I had also come across an article about her earlier work - the Canterbury Frieze (Murals). So I set out to learn more about those , and that's when I came across this event in 1919, that I, missed out on because it occurred before my grandmother was born.

In my research, I came across a 1918 American Magazine of Art article that "Williamsport has named one of it's public schools after Mr. Daniel Chester French, which he claims is the greatest honor he has received" - I assumed it was a mistake. To my knowledge there is no school named for French.

Williamsport had just constructed a new High School in 1914. Today this building still stands, part of Penn College.

The Magazine further stated that "In this school are photographs and casts of some of his chief works. Thus, Williamsport, a small and far from famous city in Pennsylvania, has set a praiseworthy example of appreciation of art to older, larger, and more noted cities of America."

A bit more searching brought me to a 1918 article in the Williamsport Sun, explaining that it was the idea of Miss Frankenberger (Rena Frankenberger, art director at Williamsport) to decorate each of the rooms in the new school with the art of one artist. I had no doubt she would be the driving force behind this.

Miss Braine was specifically interested in the work of Daniel Chester French, and chose to dedicate room 17 to him - The French Room. The class of 1914, the last two graduate from the old school, left money for this endeavor.

Miss Braine wrote to French, and received not only an autographed photo of the artist, but the artist was so flattered to have a room named for him that he also sent a replica of his bust of Emerson, "which is life size in bronze... and lantern slides of some of his works."

Sculptor Daniel Chester French is shown in his studio working on a bust of industrialist Ambrose Swaysey, with a model of French’s statue for the Lincoln Memorial in the background

If you don't believe you are familiar with French's works, I am certain you would at least recognize one - the statue of Lincoln, in the memorial at Washington D.C. But he has quite a few others you may recognize as well.

Daniel Chester French 1850 - 1931 was inspired by Louisa May Alcott, and her sister Abigil May Alcott, who went by May, and who many of us may recognize as Amy in, Louisa's Little Women.

Others who lived in the same town with French at that time included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and it Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. French was a relative of Daniel Webster.

In both a neighborhood, and family, of over achievers following their passions, Daniel at age 19 was struggling to find his own path.

And then, at the age of 19, he sat under a tree and whittled a turnip, or so the story goes. His parents immediately, and enthusiastically, praised his talent, in turnip whittling.

After failing to find a school for sculptors, he returned home and was tutored by May Alcott (Louisa's sister) who had studied sculpture in Paris.

"As a young sculptor in Concord, Daniel Chester French hoped to secure portrait commissions and advance his career. In 1879, he convinced Ralph Waldo Emerson to sit for him over thirty times throughout the year and the resulting bust is arguably the best portrait sculpture, and perhaps the best portrait overall, of the famous writer. After French completed the clay bust of Emerson, it was cast in plaster, the replicas of which sold for thirty dollars each. The bust was later carved in marble and cast in bronze."

The Gazette article, in 1919, later describes the items at the school as "pictures of the following pieces" placed by the class of 1914 in the Art Room. Personally I'm curious if Miss Baine and Miss Frankeberger was aware of the connection to the Princeton Sculpture, and Williamsport.

The Contents of the Williamsport High School Exhibit:

Alma Mater
The Alice Freeman Palmer Memorial
The Princeton Student
Death Staying The Hand Of The Sculptor

The Princeton Student was, according to decades later article in the Williamsport Grit, "a representation of Princeton Student Earl Dodge who was prominent in athletics and in the religious life of this great school.

His grandfather, William E. Dodge, was the founder and for many years the manger of Dodge Mills of Williamsport - at one time the very largest lumber mills in the world. Those were in the days of prominence of Williamsport as the 'Lumber City' ".

Dodge Mill, Newberry (Later the location of Sweets Steel)

The statue was displayed in front of, not coincidentally, Dodge Hall at Princeton, then moved around and leant out for awhile, before returning to Princeton. One of the locations it was moved for temporary display was the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

In 1937, for Art Week, a series of programs were scheduled each morning to call attention to the "noteworthy paintings in the public school buildings". The program was given each morning at the Roosevelt School, and repeated on the radio in the afternoon. The program subjects included:

The J. Wesley Little frieze in the franklin school
The Hiawatha Murals in the Curtin School
The Paintings at the Roosevelt School
the Works of Daniel Chester French in the Senior High Building
The Friezes in the Williamsport High School Building, "including Caterbury tales, Holy Grail, and the Founding of The State Of Spiritual Liberty".

So we know Frankebergers Chaucer murals were still on display in 1937....

But where are they now? And where is the bust of Emerson? I call them "Lost", but for all I know, they are still in one of the Williamsport Schools, or possibly even at the Taber Museum?

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Dodge Mills, Princeton, Daniel Chester French

In 1914, when the new Williamsport High School was built, art director Rena Frankeberger wanted each room in the school to feature an artist. Room 17 was named the French room, for sculptor Daniel Chester French. One of the photos of French's work, to be displayed in room 17, was The Princeton Student. Was Miss Braine aware that that work was modeled on a descendent of Williamsport's Dodge Lumber Mill?

The Princeton Student was, according an article in the Williamsport Grit, "a representation of Princeton Student Earl Dodge who was prominent in athletics and in the religious life of this great school. His grandfather, William E. Dodge, was the founder and for many years the manger of Dodge Mills of Williamsport - at one time the very largest lumber mills in the world. Those were in the days of prominence of Williamsport as the 'Lumber City' ".

The connection is admittedly somewhat tenuous - although William Earl Dodge bought land along Pine Creek and founded the Dodge Mill, it was merely one of several businesses he owned, and he did not reside in Pennsylvania. William Earl Dodge 1805-1883 married Melissa Phelphs, the daughter of a metal merchant. Dodge and his father in law founded the mining firm Phelps, Dodge and Company.

Statue Of William Earl Dodge 1805-1883

"Dodge also helped start the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), and staunchly supported the Prohibition Movement, serving as President of the National Temperance Society from 1865 to 1883. A statue honoring his good work was commissioned by John Quincy Adams Ward (1830–1910), which stands today at the northeast corner of Bryant Park [In New York City]."

Dodge Mills was located in Newberry - the site was later occupied by Sweets Steel. It was a very large operation - Dodge Row was company homes for the workers, and The Second Baptist Newberry Church on Third and Depot streets was built by those workers, using Dodge Mill lumber.

“The Princeton Student,” by Daniel Chester French was a bronze statue originally erected as a monument to the establishment of the Union of Christian Students at Princeton. It was located near Dodge Hall and the University Chapel. The granite base was inscribed with the dedication: "To mark the birthplace of the world-wide Union of Christian Students in work for Christ."

William Earl Dodge III (1858-1884)

Cleveland Dodge, grandson of William Earl Dodge (1805-1883), commissioned a bronze sculpture of his brother, William Earl Dodge III (1858-1884) by the artist Daniel Chester French. The statue was unveiled in 1913, the year before the new high school was completed in Williamsport.

The seven foot, six-inch figure of "The Princeton Student", a young man in a football uniform was modeled from a photograph of Dodge III.

William Earl Dodge III attended Princeton from 1876-1878. He was captain of the National Champion Princeton Tigers Football Team in 1877. He was also good friends with fellow classmate, and future president, Woodrow Wilson.

Dodge III married Emmeline Harriman, and they had two children, before Dodge II died, age 26, on September 14th 1884- just a year after his grandfather's death.

The Princeton statue was displayed in front of, not coincidentally, Dodge Hall at Princeton, then moved around and leant out for awhile, before returning to Princeton.

The object of many student pranks, it was taken off-view in 1931 and later, loaned to the Daniel Chester French Foundation. Today, it can be seen in the lobby of Jadwin Gymnasium.