VOL. 39

THE

HE SCULPTOR whose imaginative power renders him capable of achieving great work and whose spiritual nature is so awakened as to enable him to understand the dignity and meaning of life, is like the great poet, painter, novelist and prophet, who can say with Carlyle: "Now, indeed, I am independent of the world's smile or frown, since I am in harmony with God and have His smile as the light of my life. I have got into the blessed region of the Everlasting Yea."

Several years ago, on entering the studio of William Ordway Partridge, our eyes fell on the legend, "Character is Destiny," engraved in bold letters above the platform on which the master and his assistants labored. From this motto we turned to examine the sculptor's work, and here, it seemed to us, was found the secret of that subtle spiritual power or quality in master creations which makes their influence distinctly morally invigorating.

The man of genius must possess in large degree the imaginative power that

enables him to penetrate to the heart of things, to enter the Holiest of Holies and become one with lives that he wishes to portray. But who has not felt a difference in the effect produced upon the mind by master creations of men of genius, whether in the worlds of poetry, painting or sculpture? Some appeal primarily to the sensuous side of life, while others awaken moral enthusiasm and stir the profound depths of the spiritual nature.

Man is a spiritual being. Naturally though often blindly he gropes for the light, aspires to that which is higher, hungers for an ideal. As the seed in the dark ground feels the compulsion of the sun and struggles to the light and heat, so the soul of man throughout the ages has slowly, toilsomely, but none the less positively, reached out toward the Divine Life, which, though not perceptible the physical senses, enwraps him as to light enfolds the flying bird.

Man is spiritual, though the divine essence is frequently veiled by materiality as in winter for days the face of the sun

In all his work there is this two-fold excellence: fidelity to the subject in hand, with that touch of idealism,that emphasis on the soul or real self, that makes the work radiate a helpful influence, makes it give a moral uplift to the imagination of those who have eyes to see and souls to sense the subtle something in all the creations of genius that minister to the spiritual side of life.

In recent years this sculptor has devoted much time to portraiture-the representation of great characters of modern times. Now this kind of creative work required an eminent degree of penetration and discernment, in order to reflect at once the outer and the inner man; being true to the life and the thought of the subject, yet never losing sight of the fact that all men are children of God, are spiritual beings, who in nature image the Divine.

Among the many portrait busts that this sculptor has made in recent years

BYRON,

By William Ordway Partridge.

is shrouded from the earth. Now it is not enough that the man of genius should possess the seeing eye. Unless he is spiritually awakened, so as to discern the real being behind the veil, he is liable to place the primary emphasis on the exterior or the materialistic side of life. This was the master defect of Grecian sculpture, especially after moral idealism began to decline. Thus, as has been well observed, the great works) of Praxiteles are well-nigh perfect in the esthetic representation of sensuous life, but they are signally wanting in the soul quality which inspires that which is noblest and finest and best in the heart of man; and it is precisely this quality, complementing the fine imaginative penetration of the man of genius, which pervades in a striking manner the work of many of the greatest present-day sculptors, and it is this quality that gives special value to the work of Mr. Partridge.

MILTON,

By William Ordway Partridge.