Storm Driven
Photo taken on January 10, 2012
The sculpture “Storm Driven” created in 1918 by James Earle Fraser (1876-1953) on display at the Shaffer Art Building, Syracuse University. This sculpture was conceived during a competition staged by the artist/philanthropist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney at her famed Whitney Studio in New York's Greenwich Village to raise funds for Allied War Relief during World War I. The competition, termed “Indigenous Sculptors,” involved 20 young sculptors (besides James Fraser, included notables Elie Nadelman, Jo Davidson, Edward McCartan, Mahonri Young, Hunt Diederich, Laura Gardin Fraser, Paul Manship and Gertrude Whitney herself) who were given equal amounts of clay, and the same 48 hour time limit to produce an original design, all of which would be auctioned to benefit the cause. In addition to the required art supplies and studio space, Mrs. Whitney also provided an unlimited supply of cigarettes, good cigars and liquor in an effort to produce good times and good works from the artists she gathered (Mrs. Whitney, whos contribution to the Allied War effort is legendary, also staged a similar event at Whitney Studio known as “Indigenous Painters,’ where the artists were provided a framed blank canvas). “Storm Driven” harkens back to James Fraser’s roots on the North American prairie. Fraser grew up in the Dakota Territory during the late nineteenth century. He developed an appreciation and understanding for his Native American neighbors, and their lifesyle. He began his study of art at the Chicago Institute of Art at the young age of 15, soon apprenticing in the studio of Richard Boch. In 1896 he moved to Paris to study at the famed Ecole des Beaux Arts where his prize-winning creativity brought him to the attention of fellow American sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens. James Fraser worked with Saint-Gaudens for several years, and when the older sculptor could not complete a commission of President Theodore Roosevelt, he turned it over to his capable understudy, expanding his well-deserved reputation into public art. James Fraser operated his own studio on MacDougal Alley in Greenwich Village, and he also taught at the celebrated Art Students League in New York, where he influenced many aspiring artists. In 1913 he married a former student, Laura Gardin, contemporaneous with the US Mint releasing his ‘Buffalo Head’ five-cent coin. James Fraser’s reputation was furthered at the San Francisco Panama Pacific International Exposition (P-PIE) in 1915, where he exhibited his haunting “End of the Trail” sculpture, depicting a slumping Indian brave, lance pointed at the ground, mounted on an equally slumping horse, with no where left to ride. Laura Gardin Fraser (1889-1966) found success as a sculptor as well, and she and James developed a very impressive ouvour, which allowed them the wealth to climb within New York’s loftiest social circles. The couple had a studio built in the rolling acres of Westport, Connecticut with ‘his’ and ‘hers’ work areas. Their many years of creativity have given our nation some truly iconic sculpture. The Fraser’s had no children, and following their death, their papers and personal collection and over 500 pieces of artwork were donated to Syracuse University, and a grateful posterity, by Laura’s sister Leila Sawyer along with $50,000 to aid with transport and installation.
Photo Location
- University Hill
- Syracuse
- Onondaga County
- New York
- United States
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