Thursday, March 15, 2012

Nathan Hale Statue


I often wondered why this statue of Nathan Hale is displayed prominently in a small park on a corner of Summit Avenue in St. Paul.  A brief internet search yielded this information:

The Nathan Hale statue was created by William Ordway Partridge (1861-1930) who was born in Paris to a wealthy American merchant family. The family returned to the United States in 1870. Mr. Partridge studied art at Columbia College where he developed a life-long interest in theatre. Later, he traveled extensively through Europe and studied sculpture at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris and in Rome.
Upon returning to America he continued his art education. In 1902, Partridge published an historical character study of Nathan Hale, The Ideal Patriot. Shortly thereafter, Saint Paul's sculpture was commissioned by the Nathan Hale Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Partridge worked more than 5 years on the piece, seeking a depiction of Hale that would be "inspired and vital to the living present."
The bronze sculpture depicts Nathan Hale with hands tied behind his back, waiting to meet his fate on the scaffold. He is dressed in the simple garb of a schoolmaster. The Saint Paul Pioneer Press exclaimed that "the attitude is a striking one, full of strength and dignity."





13 comments:

  1. une belle sculpture de ce jeune homme

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  2. If he is single, I have someone that could look at him eye to eye posted today.

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  3. and look at that tree in blossom behind him!!!!

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  4. Impressive post, Kate. One tends to forget just how young people we read about in history books could actually have been.

    About the leash on today's post, the only thing I can say in defense of the owner is that perhaps he/she was looking out to avoid any pedestrian not paying attention and getting tangled up with this swell dog and therefore taking it out on the dog. I myself hope the person wasn't gone too long, for sure. And I understand your point one hundred percent. Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. Well I didn't really know who Nathan Hale was Kate, so of course good old Google. Very interesting young man, a spy no less!! He certainly looks very dignified in his sculpture.

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  6. He does look proud and strong.

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  7. The spring flowering tree made a nice backdrop for your photo of the Patriot. Only lived to be twenty one and left us with a time honored statement. The sculpturer who designed the piece honored Nathan Hale and himself with the choice of pose!

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  8. WOW! I never realized he was only 21 when he died!

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  9. It is a grand sculpture and thank you for the information to describe it. When I first saw it I thought he was just standing with his hands behind him like my Grandfather did most of the time. when I read that his hands were tied and he was awaiting his fate, it gave a whole different feeling to the piece.

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  10. The more I read about revolutionary history, the more impressed I am with the people who made it happen.

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  11. I agree with the St. Paul Pioneer Press!

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  12. Nathan Hale! A Connecticut man! I think I will need to post another Hale shot to reclaim him for the nutmeggers.

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  13. Anonymous9:11 AM

    nice shot. I love this statue. It seems like occasionally in the spring I've seen him holding a yellow helium balloon behind his back. I'd love to get a shot of that.
    Welcome back to the north country!.

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