Augustus Saint - Gaudens. By Royal Cortissoz. (Hough ten, Mifflin, and Co.,
Boston ; A. Constable and Co., London. 31s. 6d.)—The great sculptor whose life and works are set before us in this volume was the son of a Frenchman married to an Irishwoman, and was born in Dublin. The present biographer claims Saint-Gaudens as a purely American artist ; but although he may have lived most of his life in America and have been a citizen of the Republic, as an artist he remained a son of France. The sense of beauty was a gift undoubtedly possessed in a high degree by this sculptor, and with it that distinction of style without which no truly fine art can exist. It matters not whether the subject be Stevenson resting on his pillows, manuscript in hand, or the rhythmic march of the negro soldiers with their leader in the Shaw monument, for in both we see the hand of a master. It is remarkable that this artist was able to produce fine effects both with ideal figures and with men of modern times. The seated figure of Cooper in frock- coat and trousers is in no way out of place under the classic canopy where he sits. The figure is in a perfectly sculpturesque pose, which the costume helps and does not mar. Admiral Farrag,ut stands four-square to all the winds that blow on his pedestal, and convinces us that thus he stood on his quarterdeck. At the same time, the figure harmonises with the fanciful decoration of water and fishes on the stone base of the work. Mention must be made of the admirable low-relief portraits, especially those of children, several of which are repro- duced in the volume before us. All the illustrations in the book are excellent, and show what care has been bestowed upon them. The printing of the book should also be noticed, for it is a good specimen of the work of this eminent American publishing-house. We believe the late Mr. Houghton drew up for the use of his firm tables of the relative proportions to be observed between type and margin. The pages, too, are free from those disfiguring rivers of white which are apt to mar the printed page.
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