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''The Crusader'', also known as the Victor Lawson Monument, is a memorial marking the grave of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
newspaper publisher
Victor Lawson Victor Fremont Lawson (September 9, 1850 – August 19, 1925) was an American newspaper publisher who headed the ''Chicago Daily News'' from 1876 to 1925.David Paul Nord. "Lawson, Victor Fremont". ''American National Biography Online''. Oxford Univ ...
. It is in Chicago's historic
Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Ir ...
and was designed by American sculptor
Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for deca ...
in 1931.


History

''The Crusader'' was created in 1931 by
Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for deca ...
. In Chicago's historic Graceland Cemetery, it is a monument intended to memorialize Victor F. Lawson (1850–1925), the publisher of the ''
Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Doughert ...
''. The ''Chicago Daily News'' was founded by
Melville E. Stone Melville Elijah Stone (August 22, 1848 – February 15, 1929) was an American newspaper publisher, the founder of the ''Chicago Daily News'', and was the general manager of the reorganized Associated Press. Biography Stone's parents were R ...
, Percy Meggy and William Dougherty in 1875. In July 1876, Lawson invested money into the publication, which was struggling, and became its business manager. By the 1890s, the paper had reached a circulation of 200,000 people. Lawson remained involved with the paper until 1925. ''The Crusader'' was commissioned by Victor Lawson's brother, Iver Lawson.Dennis, Charles Henry. ''Victor Lawson: His Time and His Work'',
Google Books link
, University of Chicago Press, 1935, p. 462.


Design

''The Crusader'' is a medieval knight, and is used to symbolize the character of Victor Lawson.Kiefer, et al., p. 71. Standing more than thirteen feet tall, it was carved out of a solid block of dark granite supplied by the Henry C. Smalley Granite Company of Quincy, Massachusetts. The granite was then highly polished."Unique statue as memorial to Victor Lawson". ''Chicago Daily Tribune''. July 24, 1931. p. 21. The knight, with a large sword and shield, was an image that Taft had contemplated for years; he used it in numerous works besides ''The Crusader''.Prince, Sue Ann. ''The Old Guard and the Avant-Garde: Modernism in Chicago, 1910-1940'',
Google Books link
,
University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including '' The Chicago Manual of Style' ...
, 1990, p. 52, ().
The original model of ''The Crusader'' was done in clay. Unlike Taft's earlier work, ''The Crusader'' emphasizes its "sheer mass", helped by the lack of realistic details in the sculpture. The monument does not bear Lawson's name, but does have an inscription which reads, "Above all things truth beareth away victory", a quote from
1 Esdras 1 Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρας Αʹ), also Esdras A, Greek Esdras, Greek Ezra, or 3 Esdras, is the ancient Greek Septuagint version of the biblical Book of Ezra in use within the early church, and among many modern Christians with varying deg ...
3:12.Merchants and Inventors
, ''
Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Ir ...
'', official site, accessed October 9, 2011.
Stylistically, the Lawson Monument falls within
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
.Graceland Cemetery, Lawson, Victor, Monument
, Property Information Report, HAARGIS Database, ''
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency The Illinois Historic Preservation Division, formerly Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is tasked with the duty of m ...
'', accessed October 8, 2011.
''The Crusader'' is described as "an excellent example of Taft's late style in which he blended literal realism and
allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
".Kiefer, et al., p. 149.


See also

*'' Eternal Silence'' * List of public art in Chicago


References

*Kiefer, Charles D., Achilles, Rolf, and Vogel, Neil A.
Graceland Cemetery
(
pdf Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, HAARGIS Database, ''
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency The Illinois Historic Preservation Division, formerly Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is tasked with the duty of m ...
'', June 18, 2000, accessed October 8, 2011.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crusader, The 1931 establishments in Illinois 1931 sculptures Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago) Historic district contributing properties in Illinois Granite sculptures in Illinois Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Outdoor sculptures in Chicago Sculptures by Lorado Taft