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Post by George Armstrong Custer on Jun 1, 2006 7:25:05 GMT -6
Stanford White was murdered on June 25, 1906, precisely 30 years after Custer's death! Well, that's blown the credibility of Robbins' book all to hell! But it puts us back to square one as to determining the likely fate of the statue's remains.  If Stanford had been given it to convert into a bust a decade and a half before his death, presumably he did so. So where did the bust end up - and the torso from which it was removed? As I said, nothing's simple in Custeriana! It does occur to me, though, that committee which oversaw the raising of funds to create the statue in the first place probably had some legal say in how it was disposed of. Chaired by journalist Thurlow Weed, with members including generals Hancock and Schofield, and Congressman Sullivan amongst others. Perhaps they sanctioned it being sold for scrap and directed the money raised from that disposal to some other suitable place? Well spotted, though, Diane - one more mystery remains unsolved! Leyton - you may be correct in placing the Condottieri image you refer to in the Palazzo Vicchio, but I just can't think who it might be. But your mention of 'lots of flashy gold' and a possible Siennese connection instantly brought to mind the opulent fresco by Simone Martini (note the name!) depicting Guidoriccio da Fogliano. This is to be found in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. Is this the image you were thinking of?:  Regards, GAC |
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Post by George Armstrong Custer on Jun 1, 2006 8:07:04 GMT -6
OK, here's another possibility which suggests itself: Supposing the staue wasn't shipped to Stanford White in the 1890's - and that that's where the error lies. Perhaps, then, it was 1906 - as Diane notes, the thirtieth anniversary af LBH - when someone decided it would be a good idea to have the statue lying in the Point's equipment shed sent over to White for conversion into a bust to mark the anniversary. However, after taking delivery, but before he can complete the work, White pays the ultimate price for his extra-curricular activities..........on of all days, June 25!
This scenario has the merit of sustaining Robbins' suggestion that the statue went to White, but that he was murdered before he could complete the commission. The fact of 1906 being the auspicious 30th anniversary year also fits. But the fact that the hated statue was denied a resurrection as a bust by White's murder on June 25 smacks of a spectral Custer's revenge! It also leaves as a possibility the earlier suggestion that the remains of the statue were disposed of as scrap from White's workshop - perhaps through agreement between White's executors and the members of the statue committee.
As ever, fact is stranger than fiction in anything from the world of Custeriana. It's a wonder that Thomas Berger didn't have Jack Crabbe, in The Return of Little Big Man, being involved in some way in White's demise - to prevent the Libbie he idolized being confronted by the statue's reappearance as a bust!
Regards,
GAC
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If Stanford had been given it to convert into a bust a decade and a half before his death, presumably he did so. So where did the bust end up - and the torso from which it was removed? As I said, nothing's simple in Custeriana! It does occur to me, though, that committee which oversaw the raising of funds to create the statue in the first place probably had some legal say in how it was disposed of. Chaired by journalist Thurlow Weed, with members including generals Hancock and Schofield, and Congressman Sullivan amongst others. Perhaps they sanctioned it being sold for scrap and directed the money raised from that disposal to some other suitable place? Well spotted, though, Diane - one more mystery remains unsolved!