Greene Vardiman Black

Greene Vardiman Black, 1918

Frederick Cleveland Hibbard

Lincoln Park

North of East North Avenue at North Astor Street

This statue honors the man considered the "Father of Modern Dentistry," Greene Vardiman Black (1836–1915). In fact, it is documented that, "Few can have influenced the development of their professions so markedly as did G.V. Black in the latter half of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth." Raised near Winchester, Illinois, invention of the dental drill and use of nitrous oxide during tooth extraction are only two of Black's achievements. He later became a Professor of Pathology at the Chicago College of Dental Surgery (which became the Loyola University School of Dentistry) and, in 1897, was the first Dean of Northwestern University's dental school. Soon after his death, the National Dental Association commissioned sculptor Frederick Cleveland Hibbard (1881–1950) to create this bronze figure mounted on a limestone bench-like base. 
More than fifteen hundred members of that association attended the monument's unveiling ceremonies. Hibbard, who studied under renowned sculptor Lorado Taft, created more than 70 works throughout the United States. His other Chicago pieces include the Eagle Fountains in Grant Park, Carter Harrison Monument in Union Park, Wallach Fountain in Burnham Park and Garden Figure in the Lincoln Park Conservatory.

Wallach Fountain

Wallach Fountain, 1939

Elisabeth Hazeltine Hibbard and Frederick Cleveland Hibbard

Burnham Park

Near 55^th Street, east of underpass leading to Promontory Point

            The donor, David Wallach, was a resident of the south side of Chicago who died in 1894. In his will, he designated funds for the installation of a fountain “to be kept and maintained for the free use of both men and beasts.” In the 1930s, the sculptor Elisabeth Hazeltine Hibbard and her husband Frederick C. Hibbard (the artist who created the Eagle Fountains and monuments to Carter Henry Harrison and GreeneVardiman Black in Chicago) were commissioned to design the work and Elisabeth modeled the bronze fawn on top after a doe that she has seen at the Lincoln Park Zoo. The fountain includes a pool for birds and dogs as well as drinking fountains for children and adults. Elisabeth Hibbard, known for her sensitive animal sculptures, assisted renowned sculptor Lorado Taft at his Midway Studios and she taught at the University of Chicago from 1943-1950.

Carter Harrison Memorial

Carter Harrison Memorial, 1907

Frederick Cleveland Hibbard

Union Park

East of North Ashland Avenue and south of West Washington Boulevard

            This eight-foot tall bronze sculpture honors Carter H. Harrison, Sr. (1825-1893), a Chicago politician who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was elected to five terms as Mayor of Chicago. His first four terms, from 1879 to 1887, were witness to years of labor unrest, including strikes demanding the eight-hour workday. Harrison, known as the “people’s mayor,” was more sympathetic to labor issues than many others in the Chicago establishment and he was known to restrain police from intervening during strikes called by well-connected unions. After the Haymarket Affair in May of 1886, however, Harrison called a halt to meetings and processions associated with the labor movement.

            Harrison is depicted wearing his typical attire, including a bow tie, vest and overcoat, and he holds his felt slouch hat in his left hand. The mayor was fond of riding through the streets on a white horse and declared that his door was “always open.” He was elected to his fifth term as mayor in 1893 and he hosted the World’s Columbian Exposition. On October 28^th, after his last full day at the Exposition, Harrison returned to his South Ashland Avenue home, not far from Union Park, and he was confronted by a deranged and unemployed Irish immigrant named Patrick Eugene Prendergast, who was indignant at not having been appointed as the city’s chief attorney. Prendergast shot Harrison three times at point blank range with a .38 caliber revolver and the wounds were fatal.

            This statue was the first major commission for sculptor Frederick Cleveland Hibbard (1881-1950), a native of Missouri who studied with Lorado Taft at the Art Institute. The bronze was cast in Chicago at the American Bronze Foundry and the memorial originally included a bronze plaque on the granite pedestal with an excerpt from the speech he delivered on the day of his assassination, and two ornamental lights on either side. The plaque and lights have been missing for many years.

Eagle Fountains

Eagle Fountains, 1931

Frederick Cleveland Hibbard

Columbus Plaza, Grant Park

East of South Michigan Avenue at East Congress Parkway

Update: Where have the Eagle Fountains been?

            Twin fountains with circular pools flank Congress Plaza and each features a bronze eagle about to take flight and grasping a fish in its talons. The sculptures were requested by the South Park Commissioners as part of their design for an impressive gateway to Grant Park and the lakefront. The work was completed in time for the 1933-34 A Century of Progress World’s Fair, held in nearby Burnham Park. Hibbard’s eagles, although highly naturalistic, also reflect the prevailing Art Deco style, with the sweeping lines of the wings emphasis on verticality.

            Frederick Cleveland Hibbard (1881-1950) studied with Lorado Taft after moving to Chicago from his native Missouri. He collaborated with his wife, Elisabeth Hazeltine, on the David Wallach Fountain in Burnham Park and his first major work in Chicago was a memorial to former mayor Carter Henry Harrison, Sr., in Union Park. During his career, Hibbard also designed a famous memorial to Mark Twain, located in Hannibal, Missouri, and a military memorial in Shiloh, Tennessee, commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.