| Revision as of 10:18, 17 October 2012 editEEng (talk | contribs)Edit filter helpers, Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Template editors97,994 edits As previously explained in edit summaries, and discussed both on Talk and at RS Noticeboard, the Crimson must be used with caution because of spotty editorial oversight. Therefore substituting a far higher-quality piece as source← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:19, 17 October 2012 edit undoFound5dollar (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers7,093 edits Undid revision 518284301 by EEng (talk) hiding again as tagged. Please leave hidden, or just find a ref, until at least the article gets through DYK. The crazy editing alone has been holding it back.Next edit → | ||
| Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
| the statue was unveiled in 1884 in anticipation of the school's 250th anniversary.<ref> Ury, Faryl. . ]. October 2, 2002. Retrieved October 2, 2012</ref> | the statue was unveiled in 1884 in anticipation of the school's 250th anniversary.<ref> Ury, Faryl. . ]. October 2, 2002. Retrieved October 2, 2012</ref> | ||
| {{quote|The young clergyman is represented sitting, holding an open Bible<!-- Bible appears to be the fancy of the Times (actually Traveler) reporter -- most or all other sources merely say "book" -- need further research on this--> on his knee. The costume is the simple clerical garb of the seventeenth century ... low shoes, long, silk hose, loose knee breeches, and a tunic belted at the waist, while a long cloak, thrown back, falls in broad, picturesque folds. Partly under the chair, within easy reach, lie a pile of books.<ref name= "Boston Traveler"> . ]. October 18, 1884. Retrieved October 2, 2012.</ref>}} | {{quote|The young clergyman is represented sitting, holding an open Bible<!-- Bible appears to be the fancy of the Times (actually Traveler) reporter -- most or all other sources merely say "book" -- need further research on this--> on his knee. The costume is the simple clerical garb of the seventeenth century ... low shoes, long, silk hose, loose knee breeches, and a tunic belted at the waist, while a long cloak, thrown back, falls in broad, picturesque folds. Partly under the chair, within easy reach, lie a pile of books.<ref name= "Boston Traveler"> . ]. October 18, 1884. Retrieved October 2, 2012.</ref>}} | ||
| The books represent |
<!-- The books represent (instead of "represent" there's probably some hoity-toity word, like synecdoche, or schenectady (or Troy or Elvira, or something like that; how about symbolize?) for the role of the books in the composition) John Harvard's 320-volume scholar's library, bequeathed by him on his deathbed (along with ]780) to what was at the time called the ''New College''—founded just two years earlier and, soon after John Harvard's death, renamed for him in gratitude. --> | ||
| John Harvard's 320-volume scholar's library, bequeathed by him on his deathbed | |||
| (along with ]780) to | |||
| what was at the time called the ''New College''—founded just two years earlier and, soon after John Harvard's death, renamed for him in gratitude. | |||
| == History == | == History == | ||
Revision as of 14:19, 17 October 2012
| John Harvard statue | |
|---|---|
 Tour guides encourage visitors to emulate a nonexistent Harvard "tradition" of rubbing the statue's toe for luck. | |
| Artist | Daniel Chester French |
| Type | bronze |
| Location | Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachusetts |
The John Harvard statue, honoring Harvard University's first benefactor (and namesake) John Harvard, is a bronze sculpture by Daniel Chester French in the Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The gift of a longtime Harvard donor Samuel James Bridge the statue was unveiled in 1884 in anticipation of the school's 250th anniversary.
The young clergyman is represented sitting, holding an open Bible on his knee. The costume is the simple clerical garb of the seventeenth century ... low shoes, long, silk hose, loose knee breeches, and a tunic belted at the waist, while a long cloak, thrown back, falls in broad, picturesque folds. Partly under the chair, within easy reach, lie a pile of books.
History
French began work on models for the statue in September 1883. Because there was then (as now) nothing at all to indicate what John Harvard had looked like, French used Harvard student Sherman Hoar as inspiration for the figure's face. "In looking about for a type of the early comers to our shores," he wrote, "I chose a lineal descendant of them for my model in the general structure of the face. He has more of what I want than anybody I know. Of course I shall not make it a portrait of him."
Harvard president Charles W. Eliot worried at first about "attempts to make portrait statues of those of whom there are not only no portraits, but no records or recollections ... Such a course tends to the confusing and confounding of historic truth and leaves posterity unable to decide what is authentic and what is mere invention." But on seeing the partially completed statue he wrote, "It moves one, which is an indication of merit."
The commission, meanwhile, weighed heavily on French. "I am sometimes scared by the importance of this work. It is a subject that one might not have in a lifetime," wrote the sculptor—who twenty years later was commissioned to sculpt the statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial—"and a failure would be inexcusable. As a general thing, my model looks pretty well to me, but there are dark days
French's plaster model was complete by May 1884 and transferred to bronze (by New York's Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company) over the next several months. The completed statue was installed on the Delta, a triangle of land immediately west of Memorial Hall, facing west, and unveiled October 15, 1884. The total cost of the monument was $20,000 or more.
In 1924, partly at French's urging, it was moved to its current location on the west side University Hall, facing west toward Harvard Hall, Massachusetts Hall, and the Johnston Gate. It is the frequent target of pranks, which began soon after its unveiling.
Inscriptions
The monument's red granite plinth is by Boston architect C. Howard Walker. On its left and right sides (respectively) are the seals, in brass, of Harvard College and of John Harvard's alma mater, Cambridge University's Emmanuel College. On the rear are the words, "Given by Samuel James Bridge, June 17, 1883."
The face of the plinth is inscribed, "John Harvard / Founder / 1638"—words "hardly read before some smartass guide breezily informs the unsuspecting visitor that this is, after all, the 'Statue of the Three Lies'" because (it is ritually related) Harvard's founding was not in 1638 but 1636; its was founded not by John Harvard but by the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (see John Harvard); and the statue is, as discussed above, not a likeness of John Harvard. However, "the idea of the three lies is at best a fourth, and by far the greater falsehood. In truth, opinions differ greatly" as to the precisely appropriate interpretation of the statue's inscription and therefore its ultimate truth or falsity.
References
- The College Pump: Toes Imperiled. Harvard Magazine May-June 1999. Retrieved October 17, 2012
- ^ The John Harvard Statue. The New York Times. October 16, 1884. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
- ^ Bethell, John T., Hunt, Richard M., Shenton, Robert. Harvard A to Z. Harvard University Press. p.230. 2004. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
- Ury, Faryl. John Harvard Statue Vandalized. The Harvard Crimson. October 2, 2002. Retrieved October 2, 2012
- The John Harvard Statue. The New York Times. October 18, 1884. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
- ^ Callan, Richard L. 100 Dears of Solitude: John Harvard Finishes His First Century. The Harvard Crimson. April 28, 1984. Retrieved October 13, 2012
- ^ Shand-Tucci, Douglas (2001). The Campus Guide: Harvard University. Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 46–51. ISBN 9781568982809.
- ^ John Harvard to Move from Memorial Region
- Photo of statue at original site