Stephen Neal (bust)
Encyclopedia
Stephen Neal is a public artwork by Indiana
artist Clara Barth Leonard
. It is located in the Indiana Statehouse, which is in Indianapolis
, Indiana
, United States
. The subject of the work is Stephen Neal, a member of the Indiana State Legislature and a Judge
of the Boone County
Circuit Court
during the mid-to-late-19th century, as well as being the author of the original draft of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
. The bronze
bust
is located on the second floor of the Indiana Statehouse in a waist-high limestone
niche
, and faces West towards North Senate Avenue.
27 inches (68.58 cm) high, 24 inches (60.96 cm) wide and 15 inches (38.1 cm) deep which depicts an elderly man wearing a shirt and vest, a formal frock coat
with wide lapels and a stock tie. The subject, Stephen Neal, has a beaked nose, furrowed brow, deep-set eyes and sunken cheeks. His hair is parted on the proper left, and its ends brush the tops of his ears. He directs his gaze up and towards the proper left over the viewer's right shoulder. The proper right shoulder of the bust droops slightly lower than the proper left. On the proper left side of the base, which is roughly modeled, the artist has signed her name, along with the date that the artwork was completed. In cursive
script, it reads 'Clara Barth Leonard,' with the year '1907' carved into the bronze just beneath the signature. Three blocks of limestone, each successively smaller, are cemented into the limestone niche which houses the bust. The base of the bust sits on top of the smallest block, in the middle and towards the front, roughly 2" from the ledge. A bronze plaque
identifying the subject of the sculpture is located below the bust in the middle of the topmost limestone block. Its inscription reads:
library, and the third of which remained in his possession. The third bust was eventually presented to the Boone County
Courthouse in Lebanon, Indiana. A small plaster cast
of Stephen Neal was donated to the Indianapolis Museum of Art
by Clara Barth Leonard, and is listed in the collection, though it has been lost since 1929.
In order to create the most accurate portrait of Judge Neal, who had by this time been dead for three years, Clara Barth Leonard sculpted the facial features using photographs of him taken during life, as well as his death mask. A life-long friend of Judge Neal, Louis Gibson, shared his suggestions as well, later praising Leonard for her efforts. In late 1907, Leonard exhibited the bust at the Herron Art Institute, along with a number of studies of heads. A contemporary newspaper article notes that Charles H. Niehaus, sculptor of the statue of Benjamin Harrison
, spoke about the bronze bust of Judge Neal "in most complimentary terms" after having seen it at the Herron exhibit.
The bust of Judge Neal was presented to the Indiana State Library during a ceremony conducted on July 10, 1908 at 10 o'clock in the morning. The ceremony was attended by a small number of interested parties, including Charles Neal and Clara Barth Leonard. Union B. Hunt, Secretary of State at the time, gave a stirring speech regarding Stephen Neal and his contributions to the State of Indiana, namely as the author of the original draft of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Mr. Hunt had high praise for Clara Barth Leonard, stating in his speech that, "she has done her work faithfully [which] is evidenced by the highly intellectual face, and the kindly and unassuming expression of the features which were so characteristic of Judge Neal." Demarchus C. Brown, Indiana State Librarian, accepted the gift on behalf of the State Library, remarking that he "was gratified...that there are artists in the state qualified to design and execute such memorials as that presented."
. There, it would be installed in one of the empty niches which surrounds the Statehouse rotunda.
and teacher from Indianapolis, Indiana. She was a former student of well-known artists such as William Forsyth
, Alexander Archipenko
and Lorado Taft
, who she worked on Fountain of Time
with. Between 1907 and 1916, Leonard taught introductory sculpture classes at the John Herron Art Institute
in Indianapolis. In 1917, she graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago
, where she had been a student of Taft's, and she later studied at Columbia University
as well.
During her career as a sculptor, Leonard frequently worked in portraiture, completing a bas-relief of William A. Bell for the Indianapolis school of the same name, and in 1916, a bronze memorial plaque in honor of Shortridge High School
custodian James Biddy. She participated in a number of art exhibitions across the United States
, including in Chicago, Illinois, New York
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, and Santa Fe, New Mexico
, where she spent the latter part of her life.
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
artist Clara Barth Leonard
Clara Sorensen
Clara Barth Leonard Sorenson Dieman was an American female sculptor, painter and teacher from Indianapolis, Indiana. She was a former student of well known artists such as William Forsyth, Alexander Archipenko and Lorado Taft, who she worked on Fountain of Time with...
. It is located in the Indiana Statehouse, which is in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The subject of the work is Stephen Neal, a member of the Indiana State Legislature and a Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
of the Boone County
Boone County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,107 people, 17,081 households, and 12,810 families residing in the county. The population density was 109 people per square mile . There were 17,929 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile...
Circuit Court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
during the mid-to-late-19th century, as well as being the author of the original draft of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
. The bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
is located on the second floor of the Indiana Statehouse in a waist-high limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
niche
Niche
Niche may refer to:*Niche , an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size;*Niche , Colombian/Spanish football player, full name Víctor Manuel Micolta Armero*Niche , a British Thoroughbred racehorse...
, and faces West towards North Senate Avenue.
Description
Stephen Neal is a bronze sculptureSculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
27 inches (68.58 cm) high, 24 inches (60.96 cm) wide and 15 inches (38.1 cm) deep which depicts an elderly man wearing a shirt and vest, a formal frock coat
Frock coat
A frock coat is a man's coat characterised by knee-length skirts all around the base, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The double-breasted style is sometimes called a Prince Albert . The frock coat is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at the back, and some features...
with wide lapels and a stock tie. The subject, Stephen Neal, has a beaked nose, furrowed brow, deep-set eyes and sunken cheeks. His hair is parted on the proper left, and its ends brush the tops of his ears. He directs his gaze up and towards the proper left over the viewer's right shoulder. The proper right shoulder of the bust droops slightly lower than the proper left. On the proper left side of the base, which is roughly modeled, the artist has signed her name, along with the date that the artwork was completed. In cursive
Cursive
Cursive, also known as joined-up writing, joint writing, or running writing, is any style of handwriting in which the symbols of the language are written in a simplified and/or flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing easier or faster...
script, it reads 'Clara Barth Leonard,' with the year '1907' carved into the bronze just beneath the signature. Three blocks of limestone, each successively smaller, are cemented into the limestone niche which houses the bust. The base of the bust sits on top of the smallest block, in the middle and towards the front, roughly 2" from the ledge. A bronze plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
identifying the subject of the sculpture is located below the bust in the middle of the topmost limestone block. Its inscription reads:
| Hon. Stephen Neal Born 1816-Died 1904 Author of Original Draft Fourteenth Amendment to Constitution of United States Member Indiana State Legislature 1846-1847 Judge Boone Circuit Court 1888-1894 |
Historical information
The bust of Judge Stephen Neal was commissioned in 1907, along with two other copies, by Charles Neal, one of Judge Neal's sons. Mr. Neal chose a local Indiana artist named Clara Barth Leonard to execute the three works, one of which was presented to the Indiana State Library, the second of which was presented to the Lebanon, IndianaLebanon, Indiana
Lebanon is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Indiana, United States. The population was 15,792 at the 2010 census. The city was named Lebanon because a stand of hickory trees on the site reminded one of the town's commissioners of the Biblical cedars of Lebanon...
library, and the third of which remained in his possession. The third bust was eventually presented to the Boone County
Boone County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,107 people, 17,081 households, and 12,810 families residing in the county. The population density was 109 people per square mile . There were 17,929 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile...
Courthouse in Lebanon, Indiana. A small plaster cast
Casting
In metalworking, casting involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowing it to cool and solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process...
of Stephen Neal was donated to the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Indianapolis Museum of Art
The Indianapolis Museum of Art is an encyclopedic art museum located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum, which underwent a $74 million expansion in 2005, is located on a campus on the near northwest area outside downtown Indianapolis, northwest of Crown Hill Cemetery.The...
by Clara Barth Leonard, and is listed in the collection, though it has been lost since 1929.
In order to create the most accurate portrait of Judge Neal, who had by this time been dead for three years, Clara Barth Leonard sculpted the facial features using photographs of him taken during life, as well as his death mask. A life-long friend of Judge Neal, Louis Gibson, shared his suggestions as well, later praising Leonard for her efforts. In late 1907, Leonard exhibited the bust at the Herron Art Institute, along with a number of studies of heads. A contemporary newspaper article notes that Charles H. Niehaus, sculptor of the statue of Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison (sculpture)
Benjamin Harrison is a public artwork by American artist Charles Henry Niehaus, located in University Park in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is a full-length bronze sculptural portrait of 23rd President of the United States, the only U.S...
, spoke about the bronze bust of Judge Neal "in most complimentary terms" after having seen it at the Herron exhibit.
The bust of Judge Neal was presented to the Indiana State Library during a ceremony conducted on July 10, 1908 at 10 o'clock in the morning. The ceremony was attended by a small number of interested parties, including Charles Neal and Clara Barth Leonard. Union B. Hunt, Secretary of State at the time, gave a stirring speech regarding Stephen Neal and his contributions to the State of Indiana, namely as the author of the original draft of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Mr. Hunt had high praise for Clara Barth Leonard, stating in his speech that, "she has done her work faithfully [which] is evidenced by the highly intellectual face, and the kindly and unassuming expression of the features which were so characteristic of Judge Neal." Demarchus C. Brown, Indiana State Librarian, accepted the gift on behalf of the State Library, remarking that he "was gratified...that there are artists in the state qualified to design and execute such memorials as that presented."
Location history
For a number of years, it had been impossible to publicly display Stephen Neal at the Indiana State Library because of a lack of available space. In 1930, Indiana State Librarian Louis J. Bailey transferred several pieces of art, including the bust of Judge Neal, to the custodian of the Indiana Statehouse with the permission of Governor Harry G. LeslieHarry G. Leslie
Harry Guyer Leslie was a Indiana Republican Party politician, speaker of the state house and the 33rd Governor of the state. His term as governor was marked by the start of the Great Depression.-Family and education:...
. There, it would be installed in one of the empty niches which surrounds the Statehouse rotunda.
Acquisition
In 1930, the Indiana Statehouse acquired the bust from the Indiana State Library. It is now considered property of the State of Indiana.Artist
Clara Barth Leonard Sorenson Dieman (1877–1959) was a relatively unknown female sculptor, painterPainting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and teacher from Indianapolis, Indiana. She was a former student of well-known artists such as William Forsyth
William Forsyth (artist)
William J. Forsyth was an American Impressionist painter who was part of the "Hoosier Group" of Indiana artists.Forsyth was the first student of the Indiana School of Art in Indianapolis and entered the Munich Academy along with T. C. Steele and J. Ottis Adams in 1882...
, Alexander Archipenko
Alexander Archipenko
Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist, sculptor, and graphic artist.-Biography:...
and Lorado Taft
Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadoc Taft was an American sculptor, writer and educator. Taft was born in Elmwood, Illinois in 1860 and died in his home studio in Chicago in 1936.-Early years and education:...
, who she worked on Fountain of Time
Fountain of Time
Fountain of Time, or simply Time, is a sculpture by Lorado Taft, measuring in length, situated at the western edge of the Midway Plaisance within Washington Park in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. This location is in the Washington Park community area on Chicago's South Side...
with. Between 1907 and 1916, Leonard taught introductory sculpture classes at the John Herron Art Institute
Herron School of Art
Herron School of Art and Design, a school of Indiana University, was ranked 45th overall by U.S. News and World Report among graduate schools of fine arts in 2008....
in Indianapolis. In 1917, she graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, where she had been a student of Taft's, and she later studied at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
as well.
During her career as a sculptor, Leonard frequently worked in portraiture, completing a bas-relief of William A. Bell for the Indianapolis school of the same name, and in 1916, a bronze memorial plaque in honor of Shortridge High School
Shortridge High School
Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Opened in 1864, it is the oldest free, public high school in the state...
custodian James Biddy. She participated in a number of art exhibitions across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including in Chicago, Illinois, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, and Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, where she spent the latter part of her life.
See also
- Benjamin Harrison (bust)Benjamin Harrison (bust)Benjamin Harrison is a bust by American artist Richard Peglow, located in the north atrium on the second floor of the Indiana Statehouse, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The bust is cast in bronze and depicts President Benjamin Harrison. The bust is placed in front of a grey and black...
- Colonel Richard Owen (bust)Colonel Richard Owen (bust)The bust of Colonel Richard Owen is a public artwork by American artist Belle Kinney Scholz, located inside the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States...
- Frank O'Bannon (bust)Frank O'Bannon (bust)Frank O'Bannon is a public artwork by American artist Kenneth G. Ryden, located in the Indiana Statehouse rotunda in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 700 pound bronze bust was commissioned by the state to honor the memory of Indiana's 47th Governor, Frank O'Bannon...
- Henry F. Schricker (bust)Henry F. Schricker (bust)Henry F. Schricker, is a public artwork by American artist David K. Rubins, located in the Indiana State House, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. It is a bronze bust of former Indiana governor Henry F. Schricker. The bust and its base are 49 inches high, 29 inches wide, and...
- Matthew E. Welsh (bust)Matthew E. Welsh (bust)The bust of Matthew E. Welsh is a public artwork by American artist Daniel Edwards. It is located on the third floor of the Indiana Statehouse, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The bronze bust depicts Matthew E. Welsh, the 41st governor of Indiana . The bust measures 23.5 x 12.75 x...
- Otis Bowen (bust)Otis Bowen (bust)Otis Bowen is a bronze bust of Dr. Otis Bowen, who was the Governor of Indiana from 1973–1981 and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services from 1985-1989 under President Ronald Reagan.-Description:...
- Robert D. Orr (bust)Robert D. Orr (bust)Robert D. Orr, is a public artwork by American artist Don Ingle, located on the Indiana State House: Third Floor Rotunda, which is near Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America. The bust is a bronze political sculpture of Robert D. Orr, the 45th Governor of Indiana. Created in 1987, the bust...
- Sherman Minton (bust)Sherman Minton (bust)The bust of Sherman Minton is a public artwork by American artist Robert Merrell Gage, located on the main floor of the Indiana Statehouse, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States...