Richard Oglesby Monument

Richard Oglesby Monument, 1919

Leonard Crunelle

Lincoln Park

West of North Cannon Drive and north of West Fullerton Parkway

            This ten-foot-tall bronze figure honors Richard Oglesby, a Civil War hero and the fourteenth Governor of Illinois. The Kentucky-born Oglesby was raised in Decatur, Illinois by an uncle and was elected to the State Senate in 1860 as a Republican. After his service with the 8^th Illinois Infantry Regiment, President Lincoln made him a Major General. He ran for Governor on the Union ticket in 1864 and was re-elected in 1872, but subsequently appointed U.S. Senator in 1873, and again in 1884. A frequent political opponent was another former general, John Logan, who is honored with an equestrian portrait in Grant Park.

            Unveiled on November 21, 1919, this memorial was the gift of five individuals: John Barton Payne, J.S. Runnels, John W. Bunn, L.C. LaForce and Martin B. Bailey. The sculptor, Leonard Crunelle, was mentored by the famous Chicago artist Lorado Taft. Crunelle portrayed Oglesby holding his hat in one hand and coat thrown over his arm in a naturalistic fashion, more as politician than military hero. 

Other works:

• Victory Monument, World War I Black Soldiers’ Memorial
• George Washington—Robert Morris—Haym Salomon Monument
• Fountain Figures (Crane Girl, Fisher Boy, Turtle Boy, Dove Girl)

Victory Monument, World War I Black Soldiers’ Memorial

Victory Monument, World War I Black Soldiers’ Memorial, 1927, 1936

Leonard Crunelle

East 35^th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive

            When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the Army had a policy of racial segregation and African-American soldiers were required to serve in all-black regiments, typically under the command of white officers. The National Guard also had separate African-American units and, during the Great War, they were called up. Although the United States had no intention of using the black soldiers in combat, when French allies were in need of manpower they were happy to use them. This monument honors the 370^th infantry of the 93^rd Division, one of the units that assisted the French and included soldiers from Illinois. This group had the distinction of being the last regiment pursuing the retreating German forces in the Aisne-Marne region before the armistice on November 11, 1918.

            The sculptor, Leonard Crunelle, was well known in Chicago, having served as assistant to Lorado Taft and contributed the Fountain Figures and monument to Richard Oglesby to the city’s public art during the 1910s. 
          On an interesting note, he was born in the town of Lens, France, which fell under German control during the Great War. At the unveiling on Armistice Day in 1928, the monument consisted only of the white granite column with relief panels. The striding “doughboy,” also created by Crunelle, was added in 1936.

            One of the four bronze panels provides an honor roll of the dead, while the other three features figures: one is a bare-chested African-American soldier standing behind an eagle, the second is a classically-draped African-American woman representing “motherhood,” and the third features the allegorical figure “Columbia,” generally understood as the personification of the United States before “Lady Liberty” became more popular. “Columbia” holds a tablet listing the regiment’s battles. 

Other works:

• George Washington—Robert Morris—Haym Salomon Monument

George Washington—Robert Morris—Haym Salomon Monument

George Washington—Robert Morris—Haym Salomon Monument, 1941

Lorado Taft and Leonard Crunelle

North Wabash Avenue and East Upper Wacker Drive

The first statue ever to depict George Washington with other individuals, the concept for this bronze monument originated with Barnet Hodes, a lawyer of Polish-Jewish heritage and member of the Patriotic Foundation of Chicago, the not-for-profit organization that commissioned the work. Hodes became interested in the career of Haym Salomon, a broker working with foreign currencies during the 18^th century and active supporter of the Revolutionary effort, sometimes underwriting some of the costs himself.  Also of Polish-Jewish heritage, Salomon and his contributions to the development of the United States were often overlooked in history books and Hodes wanted to create a monument that commemorated the spirit of cooperation between civilians and soldiers during the Revolutionary War as well as the cultural pluralism of the country.

            The Patriotic Foundation approached Lorado Taft about creating a model for visual presentations, which would help with fundraising efforts as they intended to pay the $50,000 cost through donations from citizens of Chicago. Taft suffered a stroke in his Midway Studios (on the University of Chicago campus) while finishing the model and he died on October 30, 1936. During his many years as a teacher and lecturer, Taft had worked with a number of students and associates in the Midway Studios and one of them, Leonard Crunelle, was called upon to complete the monument after Taft’s death.

            Standing more than 11 feet tall, Washington is shown wearing his Commander-in-Chief campaign clothes with the Continental three-cornered hat. To his right is Robert Morris, businessman and eventual Superintendent of Finance for the Continental government (1781-84), making him, essentially, the country’s first Secretary of the Treasury. Together with Salomon, both of whom were residents of Philadelphia, Morris helped bring about the creation of the Bank of North America in that city. The three figures exude determination and a sense of cooperation, standing together with clasped hands.

            In addition to acknowledging the contributions of businessmen and individuals with different backgrounds to the Revolutionary effort, the monument stood as a refutation of Nazi ideology. Dedicated on December 15, 1941 (Bill of Rights Day), the work was described as a “great triumvirate of patriots” by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt stated that it symbolized “a fundamental fact of American tolerance.” The massive base features a bronze, bas-relief plaque that depicts an assemblage of people of various professions, ethnicities and backgrounds, gathered beneath a seated Goddess of Liberty with outstretched arms.  The work is sometimes called the “Heald Monument,” due to its former location in Heald Square, a spot named in honor of the Commander of Old Fort Dearborn, Nathan Heald.

Other works:

• The Crusader: Victor Lawson Monument
• Eternal Silence: Dexter Graves Monument
• Fountain of the Great Lakes
• Fountain of Time
• Victory Monument, World War I Black Soldiers’ Memorial
• Richard Oglesby Monument
• Fountain Figures (Crane Girl, Fisher Boy, Turtle Boy, Dove Girl)

Fountain Figures (Crane Girl, Fisher Boy, Turtle Boy, Dove Girl)

Turtle Boy

Fountain Figures (Crane Girl, Fisher Boy, Turtle Boy, Dove Girl), 1910

Leonard Crunelle

Grant Park

One pair north and one pair south of the Clarence F. Buckingham Memorial Fountain

            Leonard Crunelle (1872-1945), one-time assistant to Lorado Taft, was widely admired for his whimsical sculptures of children. His four Fountain Figures, originally displayed as plaster casts in a 1908 outdoor exhibit at Humboldt Park, were subsequently cast in bronze and placed at the four corners of a reflecting pool in that park’s rose garden. The six-foot tall statues remained in that location until the early 1950s, when vandals damaged the works. They remained in storage until 1964, when they were installed in four separate circular fountains, as part of a new Grant Park Rose garden. Crane Girl and Fisher Boy are north of the Clarence F. Buckingham Memorial Fountain, while Turtle Boy and Dove Girl are to the south.

Other works:

• Victory Monument, World War I Black Soldiers’ Memorial
• Richard Oglesby Monument
• George Washington—Robert Morris—Haym Salomon Monument