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Sculptor Charles Adrian Pillars

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Sculptor Charles Adrian Pillars CHARLES ADRIAN PILLARS (1870-1937), JACKSONVILLE‟S MOST NOTED SCULPTOR By DIANNE CRUM DAWOOD A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2011 1 © 2011 Dianne Crum Dawood 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to acknowledge my thesis chair, Dr. Melissa Hyde, and committee members, Dr. Eric Segal and Dr. Victoria Rovine, for serving on this project for me. Their suggestions, insightful analysis, encouragement, and confidence in my candidacy for a master‟s in art history were important support. I also enjoyed their friendship and patience during this process. The wordsmithing and editing guidance of Mary McClurkin was a delightful collaboration that culminated in a timely finished paper and a treasured friendship. Assistance from Deanne and Ira in the search of microfilm and microfiche records turned a project of anticipated drudgery into a treasure hunt of exciting finds. I also appreciated the suggestions and continued interest of Dr. Wayne Wood, who assured me that Charles Adrian Pillars‟s story was worthy of serious research that culminated in learning details of his life and career heretofore unknown outside of Pillars‟s family. Interviews with Pillars‟s daughter, Ann Pillars Durham, were engaging time travels recalling her father and his celebrity and the family‟s economic and personal vicissitudes during the Great Depression. She also graciously allowed me to review her personal papers. Wells & Drew, the parent company of which was founded in Jacksonville in 1855, permitted my use of a color image, and The Florida Times-Union granted permission to use some of their photographs in this paper. I would also like to thank the following who contributed to this research: Mona Duggan at the Leland Stanford Junior Museum; Ringling School of Art, Florida Southern University; Emily Lisska, executive director, and Sharon Laird, archivist, at the Jacksonville Historical Society; Jim Anderson at the UNF library; Helen Euston at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens; Miriam Funchess from the Rotary Club of Jacksonville, and Alice Turner, office manager of the Memorial Park Association. Maintaining the perseverance that led to the completion of this research would not have been possible without the constant support of my beloved family members. Your encouragement has meant so much to me. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................3 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................6 ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................11 Challenges of Patronage and Gender ......................................................................................12 Recognition of Pillars as a Significant Regional Artist ..........................................................13 2 HISTORY OF PILLARS‟S SPIRITUALIZED LIFE MEMORIAL ......................................15 Selecting a Memorial ..............................................................................................................15 Jacksonville‟s Landmark: The Spiritualized Life Memorial Group .......................................26 3 BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS OF CHARLES ADRIAN PILLARS ....................................35 Pillars Early Career and Works ..............................................................................................35 Education and Training ...........................................................................................................36 World‟s Columbian Exposition of 1893 .................................................................................38 Chicago, Illinois ......................................................................................................................39 Jacksonville, Florida ...............................................................................................................39 St. Augustine, Florida .............................................................................................................45 Years of the Great Depression ................................................................................................47 Sarasota, Florida .....................................................................................................................48 4 CAREER CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES ..................................................................68 Nudity in Public Art ................................................................................................................68 Patronage Opportunities .........................................................................................................73 Pillars‟s Financial Strategies ...................................................................................................75 Public Commissions and Competitions ..................................................................................78 Public Assistance for Artists ...................................................................................................80 Professional Recognition of Pillars ........................................................................................85 5 CONCLUSION: LIFE RISING TRIUMPHANT FROM THE SWIRL OF CHAOS AND FACING THE FUTURE COURAGEOUSLY ............................................................97 Reputation: Recognition, and Renown ...................................................................................98 Jacksonville‟s Most Noted Sculptor, Reclaimed ..................................................................104 APPENDIX 4 A PILLARS‟S SURVIVING STUDIO PIECES, C. 1937 .......................................................107 B CHARLES ADRIAN PILLARS “OPUS LIST” ..................................................................110 LIST OF REFERENCES .............................................................................................................113 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................125 5 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 1-1 H. & W.B. Drew Company, “You‟ll Enjoy Jacksonville Florida,” c. 1929 ......................14 2-1 Charles Adrian Pillars, Spiritualized Life, preliminary competition model (now lost), n.d.......................................................................................................................................29 2-2 Charles Adrian Pillars, Life Sketch Model, (now lost), 1923, “Exterior height 20 feet.”. ..................................................................................................................................30 2-3 Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, “Jacksonville‟s Memorial to World War Dead,” 1924....................................................................................................................................31 2-4 Charles Adrian Pillars, Spiritualized Life, December 1, 1924. ..........................................32 3-1 U. S. Capitol Statuary Hall, Washington, D.C. .................................................................53 3-2 Floor Plan U. S. Capitol Statuary Hall, Washington, D.C. ..............................................53 3-3 Charles Adrian Pillars, History of Architecture, c. 1884. Doors (three) from the Leland Stanford Junior Museum. Bronze ..........................................................................54 3-4 Daniel Chester French, The Republic, c. 1893, Chicago Exposition of 1893, demolished 1896. ...............................................................................................................55 3-5 Daniel Chester French and E. C. Potter, Columbus Quadriga, c. 1893, Chicago Exposition of 1893, demolished 1896. ..............................................................................56 3-6 Arch Peristyle, c. 1893, World‟s Columbian Exposition of 1893, demolished 1896. .......56 3-7 Miss Jacobi’s School Record, c. 1907-1908. Jacksonville, Florida...................................57 3-8 Teachers. Miss Jacobi’s School Record, c. 1907-1908. Jacksonville, Florida ..................57 3-9 Miss Jacobi’s School, c. 1907-1908. Charles Adrian Pillars. ............................................58 3-10 Charles Adrian Pillars, c. 1908 .........................................................................................58 3-11 Charles Adrian Pillars, Twin Sons of Bion Barnett, n.d. Bronze. Location unknown .....59 3-12 Charles Adrian Pillars, Unnamed Portrait Medallions, n.d. Bronze. Location unknown. ............................................................................................................................59 3-13 Charles Adrian Pillars, Senator Duncan U. Fletcher, 1909. Bronze. Location unknown .............................................................................................................................60 6 3-14 Charles Adrian Pillars, Children of Perry Elwood, 1916. Marble, “Life size.” Location unknown .............................................................................................................60 3-15 Charles Adrian Pillars, Cherub Fountain, 1910. Bronze. Klutho Park,
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