James Earle Fraser Sculpture

Veep

Last month I posted pics of a St. Gaudens work on Lincoln that is in Springfield, IL. Today I am in Waupun, Wisconsin where there is a James Earle Fraser statue in Shaler Park. I always stop to see it when I'm in town and I marvel that it could have been created by a 17 year old artist. It got me wondering whether anyone on the board ever met Fraser and could share some insights on the man.

oih82w8

Very impressive!

Veep

Purportedly, Chief John Big Tree was one of the models (or at least in Fraser's thoughts) when he was working on the nickel. It was reported that the Chief spent six long months on the back of a "not so patient horse" while Fraser created this sculpture.

koynekwest

That's an outstanding piece of work by Mr. Fraser known as "End of the Trail"-it's almost as outstanding as his nickel.

littlebear

Awesome!

epcjimi1

Get it out of the environmental elements and into a museum.

291fifth

I wish my own town would buy works like that for public display instead of the junk (sometimes literally) they currently buy.

FellintoOblivion

@epcjimi1 said:
Get it out of the environmental elements and into a museum.

Don't you want some natural toning?

bolivarshagnasty

Thanks for posting this Veep!

BuffaloIronTail

It's so very sad................and beautiful at the same time.

Pete

QCCoinGuy

Amazing! Thanks for posting

ricko

Absolutely beautiful.... and amazing for an artist of that age.... Cheers, RickO

CascadeChris

I have one of his bronzes that was passed down to me when my grandfather passed in 2005. Heavy little bugger...

Zoins

Great to have information on Clarence Addison Shaler commissioning the first bronze cast as well. He was a sculptor himself.

Here are some excerpts from some relevant articles:

City of Wapun: City of Sculpture

http://www.cityofwaupun.org/1654/custom/23980

THE END OF THE TRAIL

The image of this heroic bronze, even its silhouette, has become an icon representing the plight of Native Americans who were displaced all over the country during the 18th and 19th centuries.

BACKGROUND: The original model of “The End of the Trail” was created by James Earl Fraser in 1894 when he was 17 years old. It’s completed size was only 18 inches tall. Fraser was asked to replicate his masterpiece in plaster for the 1914 Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco which was where Shaler first beheld the work of art. The child of pioneer farmers, Shaler had contact with Native Americans living around nearby Lake Emily and was saddened by their disappearance over the years. As a tribute to the Native Americans he commissioned James Earl Fraser to cast the statue in bronze as a gift to the City of Waupun. It took two years to complete at a cost of $50,000 and was unveiled at its present site on June 23, 1929. In 1975, the statue become a Wisconsin landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.

There's also a great article on this from the Chicago Tribune with a relevant excerpt:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-05-02/travel/9905020061_1_fraser-canada-geese-wisconsin

In 1915, he would create a mammoth 25-foot plaster version for the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, where it would win the gold medal for sculpture. That's where Shaler saw it, and, apparently, never forgot it.

As the name implies, "End of the Trail" depicts an exhausted Indian atop an exhausted pony.

Fraser would personally supervise the casting of the three-ton bronze, which cost about $50,000 to produce. The value today? Close to $1 million.

Shaler and Fraser personally selected the site for "End of the Trail." This May marks its 70th year in Waupun, 70 years that, unfortunately, took their toll.

Here's is the memorial for Shaler from FindAGrave:

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=72036436

Inventor and sculptor.

Born in Mackford Township, Green Lake County, Wisconsin, Clarence began his career as a manufacturer of umbrellas and other inventions in Waupun, Wisconsin in the 1890s. He made his fortune through the invention of vulcanized tire patches in the early days of the automobile industry.

In 1928, Shaler retired to pursue sculpting. He donated a number of pieces to the City of Waupun, including several of his own works, including "Dawn of Day," "The Pioneers of Wisconsin," and "Group of Deer." One of his finest works, "Morning of Life," a tribute to his twin sister, Clara, who died at age 18, is located at her gravesite in Mackford Union Cemetery in neighboring Green Lake County.

Clarence commissioned the sculpture seen here, "The Recording Angel," from artist Laredo Taft upon the death of his wife, Blanche. It is one of the foremost landmarks in Waupun and on the National Register of Historic Sites.

ldhair

1940coupe

I have a ash tray

crazyhounddog

I love it!!

RogerB

Drop in at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City -- all of Fraser's materials are there, plus the plaster of this sculpture.

Zoins

@RogerB said:
Drop in at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City -- all of Fraser's materials are there, plus the plaster of this sculpture.

Great to know the original plaster is still around! The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum has some interesting history on this piece. Apparently it was tossed into a mud pit during WWI and then rescued in 1919 at the end of the war.

https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/learn-discover/online-unit-studies/end-of-the-trail-introduction/

Placed in the Court of Palms at the entrance to the Expo, this compelling image greeted almost 19 million visitors. Fraser’s piece was such a great success that he was awarded the gold medal for sculpture, and The End of the Trail quickly gained widespread recognition. Following the conclusion of the Exposition, many artists wished to have their sculptures cast in bronze, but this was not possible since the United States entered into World War I, and the materials for making bronze became very scarce. Thus, the plaster sculptures were tossed into a mud pit at Marina Park.

Residents of Tulare County, California, rescued The End of Trail in 1919 and relocated the piece to Mooney Grove Park, near Visalia, California. In 1968 the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum acquired the plaster piece, had the plaster piece cast in bronze, and returned the cast sculpture to Mooney Grove Park.

Here's their photo:

koynekwest

Great info, Zoins. I'd love to have one of those copper ash trays.