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 Theodore Thomas Memorial - Chicago, IL Posted by:  adgorn
N 41° 52.407 W 087° 37.407
16T E 448264 N 4635914
A large female figure with drapery from the waist down is positioned on a bronze dome which rests on a polished granite base.
Waymark Code: WMWHZR
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 09/09/2017
Views: 2
More from the Smithsonian:"She holds a lyre in her proper left hand and raises her proper right arm upward. The lyre features a small classical mask at its lower end. Polasek maintained that it was his own face which peered out from behind the mask. Behind the sculpture is a low granite wall with a relief panel depicting an orchestra.
Dimensions: Sculpture: approx. H. 15 ft.; Base: approx. 5 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 ft.
Inscription: Albin Polasek 1923 / Cast by Roman Bronze Works N Y (On base:) Erected by the Trustees of/the B. F. Ferguson Monument Fund/1923/Albin Polasek - sculptor Howard Van Doren Shaw Architect. Theodore Thomas Scarcely Any Man in/Any land has done/so much for the musical educa/tion of the people as did/Theodore Thomas/in this country/the nobility of his/ideals with the /magnitude of his/achievement will/assure him ever/lasting glory/1835-1905 signed Founder's mark appears.
Remarks: The memorial was donated by the B. F. Ferguson Monument Fund. It was first moved to Grant Park in 1941 and placed in a Greco-Roman peristyle, but when the peristyle was demolished in 1953 to make way for underground parking, the monument was placed in storage for five years. In 1958, it was reinstalled in Grant Park in the area north of Buckingham Fountain, but the relief panel remained in storage. In 1991 when the sculpture was moved to its current site at Balbo and Michigan, the relief panel was reunited with the bronze sculpture. Architect Howard Van Doren Shaw designed the low granite panel which is adorned with figures carved in relief by Polasek."
Also known as "The Spirit of Music." From Bach's "Chicago's Public Sculpture": " Polasek stood the figure on a hemispherical base ornamented with low relief figures of Orpheus playing his lyre, Chibiabos, from Longfellow's 'Song of Hiawatha' singing and a group of animals listening.
German born Theodore Thomas had been touring the United States with his orchestra for 20 years when Chicagoans invited him to form a permanent orchestra in 1890. His dream for a home for the orchestra was realized when Orchestra Hall was built in 1904, but he lived to conduct only one concert there."
The area seems to attract people who leave litter, so pick up and dispose of a piece if you visit!
TITLE: Theodore Thomas Memorial
ARTIST(S): Polasek, Albin, 1879-1965, sculptor. Shaw, Howard Van Doren, 1869-1926, architect. Roman Bronze Works, founder.
DATE: 1923. Dedicated April 24, 1924. Relocated 1941.
MEDIUM: Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite; Relief panel: granite.
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 75004349
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Located Grant Park, Balbo at Michigan, Chicago, Illinois
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
none
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date of your visit, your impressions of the sculpture, and at least ONE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH. Add any additional information you may have, particularly any personal observations about the condition of the sculpture.
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