Broken Statue Restored

Horowhenua Chronicle, 3 August 1910, Page 4

Broken Statue Restored

Iflpxnov I'Tini'c ?..T:y I A«i\AuLK ACHIEVEMENT. One of the most contented women in London at the present hour i.s Miss Kditii Downing, tho artist, whofto famous piece of sculpture, "The Spirit of the Trusts," has been restored to her without any outward traces of damage. It will be remembered that Miss Down ing's clever and suggostivu sculpture, which represented a human fignro grasping in one hand <n bag of gold and extending the of her arm in an effort to dutch treasure just beyond his touch, the whole symbolising tho ravenous and insolent greed of tho "trusts, combines and monopolies," created a great stir in the Paris Salon two years ago. and on its return transit w:i.s accidentally smashed to pieces. I As the stnfue was uninsured, Miss Downing failed to recover damages. The mutilated fragments were conveyed ff> (ho workroom of Messrs ('. Smith and Son, Kentish Town road, by whom it has been .so successfully restored that it i.s impossiblo to trace any sjgns of fracture. The story of its restoration w.ns told to a Diiily Xews representative by Mr Smith, sen. "The statue was delivered to us over two years ago, literally in fragments. In fact," it was .so broken up that wo refused t.o touch it. and it lay in tho workroom unheeded for months. One night, when we were rather slack, my "son ■and I looked it over, and found"some portions which we thought might piece together. We tried first with tbese, just as an experiment, and the thing scorned to promise well. At odd intervals during the next twelve months wo turned our attention to it, but it was like putting together tho nieces of a most intricate puzzle. The fascination of tho restoration grew as we advanced with it, and slowly tho scheme of its reconstruction began to take shape. "We did not say anything to Miss Downing about what wo were doing, as we bad led her to believe that the work was destroyed beyond recovery. For nearly two years wo worked at the problem, and at last succeded in rebuilding tho statue in its original form. Then wo sent for Miss Downing." "And then?" rjueried our interrepresentative. "When Miss Downing came she stood speechless for about ten minutes with tears in -her eyes, too overcome to say anything, but her fratitudo was unmistakable."