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Show i AVas'ks;, -for -the jVaimed How an American Woman Sculptor, Anna Coleman Ladd, Is Using Her Art to Hide the Disfigurements or Thousands of Wounded Soldiers U. S. Boys to Have v. First Call Upon Her Services and Those of Her I Large Corps of Assistants , ' . How an American Woman Sculptor, TN T Anna Coleman Ladd, Is Using Her Art to Hide the Disfigurements of ' tg;4 ; Thousands of Wounded Soldiers Jf ' f U. S. Boys to Have First Call Upon Her Services and -Hat- "J rf ' Thse f Her and the Boston Society of Artists." Before' the war 'she was famed not will look like this again," 3he cheers him, 1 " 2 ' ' only in her own country but in France and Italy for her bronzes and other ' "and feel no embarrassment at appearing V ONX A painter of note, she turned to sculpture several years ago. Being your disfigurement." 99 liGgfojS' devoted to children, she made them the of mosl of her subjects. . ., Ik'yuSiBfii I lor first efforts attracted so much attention t, she went to Florence, Italy, f Ms,,. WjBfflKHfeSb j&WwSSSwr "', "' --rjsUL f I where for years she worked under the guidance of famous sculptors until jjBj!yrfe she herself reached the skill of those who had instructed her. pnHBSj'. -t ctaWfiSBiwShBSB8- tJLfSBk Then after n brief stay In Prance, wliere her bronzes Below is a close view of one of Miss Ladd's soucht after by art connoisseurs, she returned to America, where she estab most clever inventions, a spectacle maik. """sSwJBa UWtfa studio in New York City until this country entered the war. Miss The wires from the noseglasses hold it - ' j It is hard to Ladd then returned to France with the idea of helping in Red Cross work. fi 1 i n i - ' 4vv-' The idea of "facial reconstruction" was suggested to her by the English rrnly in place. I he mustache is made ' realize art critic, 0. Lewis Bund. He told her how In 1915 Francis Derwent Wood, from metallic foil. : V 4P$ff ' that the A. R. A., had opened whal was known as the "tin noses simp" In London, JHFpPWHK two men where he had endeavored to build up the shattered features of wounded jtM I ' at the left "Tommies" by means of metal masks painted in natural colors. Miss Ladd ( - lrV QMHH.'-: have visited the sculptor, who in 1917 was serving in the British army as a cap- ' "SSS'W tain, and talked to him about the work he had started. ilgfFfi ' 'f ' N After experiment Miss Ladd invented a flexible mask made from I 'Ai, -v. ' the sliver mesh. This she found could he covered over and filled in with plas- jf4.s 1 ' '';... , x ; .." forger of paris and colored so that only the closest view would reveal the p-PP " 5 ssf" am 4 ; part of dlvling line between the -false and real part of the face. After a few 'V -' their months' experimenting she announced the result to officials of the Red Cross, '"imsEy iB- who were enthusiastic at what she showed them. : mWtlKtk jaws, Using her own funds, she set up a "tin nose shop" of her own in Paris, ... 'vHpp .' V- cheekbones where she is today and where she will remain for the duration of the war, and for treatment arc first required to secure a recommendation from the Ke.i ''tol ' The Cross officials. They are then.seut for examination to Miss Ladd, and if K&u, WB&P ' ' 1 ; she decides that her work will help them they are required to submit for a . M restoration is fitted and the natural colors painted over it. " '"v' 'Cf ' ' ' striking Miss Ladd plays no favorites, but she has announced that, as she Is di- V '.F Mt-' 1 example lectly affiliated with the America Red Cross, her wounded countrymen '' ' Ws - , will be put on the preferential lis(. Any. allied soldier, however, can secure W-. f v I a mask from Miss Ladd by waiting his turn. The Red Cross has afforded L fi yF'' v ,x -V.'V , tnc Miss Ladd a corps of assistants who have been given thorough instruction jSS8s& : B- , ' J woman at her hands in the making of the masks. All the work is conducted under ' " ' J sculptor's her supervision, and the final painting is attended to by her personally. " " s J ' M'St-v.-J s'-art. 1 Miss Ladd show- . ing a wounded poilu his photograph. photo-graph. "You will look like this again," she cheers him, "and feel no embarrassment at appearing in public. Even your family will forget your disfigurement." Below is a close view of one of Miss Ladd's most clever inventions, a spectacle mask. The wires from the noseglasses hold it firmly in place. The mustache is made from metallic foil. It is hard to realize that the The mask of silver mesh has been fitted on the maimed jss soldier's face and passed upon by his relatives as lifelike. Miss Ladd is beginning the final task Nf painting the mask in colors to match the complexion pf the wounded poilu. INE of the most remarkable achievements of women in the war is that of Anna Coleman Ladd, American sculptress, who has turned her art into a work of practical use. Thousands of men who have had portions of their faces blown away by shell splinters are wearing masks invented by Miss Ladd that in appearance are so natural as to restore the original fea- tures of the sufferer. Her work has been so successful and so amazing that Miss Ladd is now working in Paris under the special direction of the Red Cross and sanction of the United States government, which, it is said, intends to reward the sculptor in the near future by some unusual form of public recognition. Miss Ladd Is a member of the Nati6nal Sculpture Society of New York and the Boston Society of Artists. Before the war she was famed not only in her own country but in France and Italy for her bronzes and other art work. A painter of note, she turned to sculpture several years ago. Being devoted to children, she made them the originals of most of her subjects. Her first efforts attracted so much attention that she weut to Florence, Italy, where for years she worked under the guidance of famous sculptors until she herself reached the skill of those who had instructed her. Then after a brief stay in France, where her bronzes were eagerly . sought after by art connoisseurs, she returned to America, where she established estab-lished a studio in New York City until this country entered the war. Miss Ladd then returned to France with the idea of helping in Red Cross work. The idea of "facial reconstruction" was suggested to her by the English art critic, C. Lewis Hund. He told her how in 1915 Francis Derwent Wood, A. R. A., had opened what was known as the "tin noses shop" in London, where he had endeavored to build up the shattered features of wounded "Tommies" by means of metal masks painted in natural colors. Miss Ladd visited the sculptor, who in 1917 was serving In the British army as a captain, cap-tain, and talked to him about the work he had started. N After experiment Miss Ladd invented a flexible mask made from silver mesh. This she found could be covered over and filled in with plas-, 5 of paris and colored so that only the closest view would reveal the divvtalng line between the talsc and real part of the face. After a few months' experimenting she announced the result to officials of the Red Cross, who were enthusiastic at what she showed them. Using her own funds, she set up a "tin nose shop" of her own in Paris, where she is today and where she will remain for the duration of the war, giving her services free to men whose faces have been disfigured. Applicants fl treatment are first required to secure a recommendation from the Red Cross officials. They are then.seut for examination to Miss Ladd. and if she decides that her work will help them they are required to submit for a few hours to a simple plaster casting process. A few days later the mask-is mask-is fitted and the natural colors painted over it. Miss Ladd plays no favorites, but she has announced that, as she Is directly di-rectly affiliated with the American Red Cross, her wounded countrymen will be put on the preferential list. Any. allied soldier, however, can secure 8 mask from Miss Ladd by waiting his turn. The Red Cross has afforded Mies Ladd a corps of assistants who have been given thorough instruction at her hauds in the making of the masks. All the wofk Is conducted under her supervision, and the final painting is attended to by her personally. "Our work." declares Miss Ladd, "begins when the surgeon has finished We do not profess to heal. After the wounded man has been discharged from the hospital we begin our treatment. Of course, the chief difficulty in making these masks is to accurately match both sides of the face and restore the features so that there will be nothing of the grotesque in the appearance of the covering. A mask that did not look like the individual as he was known to his relatives would be almost as bad as the disfigurement. "We arc helped in this by the fact that It Is rarely that a soldier is wounded on both sides of his face. This is because most face wounds are made by flying bits of a bursting shell. "A man wounded in this way Is generally struck while trying to dodge the explosion that he knows is coming. In most cases he is able to turn away suddenly, thereby leaving hut one side of his face exposed. The !"fng of the mask is then based upon the outlines of the good side of his tttSt and the v..rk is eomi'.ir;i:'vc Y "In the case of a soldier who has been struck by a bursting shell full Hi, the face the work Is much harder. In those cases wo have lo rely on Jbhotograplis, or advice from himself or that of his friends aud .datives. two men at the left have j lost the forger part of their jaws, cheekbones and noses. The restoration is a striking example of the woman sculptor's art. ...igiV''' complexion of the wearer. In some cases where a man's features fea-tures are very prominent, a little plaster Is placed upon the mask to build out the distinctive portions, but this is very seldom done. "Where a man has been used to wearing a mustache and would not look natural to his friends without one this is also supplied, the hair lieing made out of metallic foil and painted .in natural colors. ' "This hirsutal substitution is also done in cases where the injury has extended to the head, shattering portion of the -skull where there orig'nally was hair. "The attaching of the masks was somewhat of a problem. It would not do for the wearer to experience any feeling of discomfort dis-comfort or irritation, and it was imperative that the mask be fixed so that there would be no danger of it shifting or becoming detached. "This problem was overcome by attaching spectacles to many of the masks. By lapping the mask under the chin and making mak-ing the spectacles a permtuicn't fixture "f the mask the simple process of placing the spectacle wires over the ears would hold it firmly In place. In most cases where a soldier's face has been battered the eyes have been affected so that the wearing of glasses is necessary. In other cases where no sjiectacles are used the mask Is attached and held In place by an almost invisible in-visible strip that hooks over behind the cars, or a small quantity quan-tity of spirit gum can be used to hold It "The mask Is easily removed when the wearer desires to eat or upon retiring at night. Otherwise it can be worn all the time and does not. prevent the soldier from smoking or talking. The flexibility of the mask allows 1 a slight movement, so that there is an almost uncanny naturalness about It that Is most gratifying to men who have had a horror of appearing In public svith their disfigurements." Copyright, 1918, by J. Kcclcv. But at that we have met with wonderful success and have been told by friends that the original likeness has been almost exactly ex-actly restored. "The process consists of placing coat after coat of plaster of paris over the face of the patient after the shattered portions have been painted with oil. The thin coats of plaster are added until the plaster is a hard, dry shell. This is peeled off and used for what we call a 'negative.' A positive is made from this, and then another negative. Then comes the making of the mask, which Is constructed of silver mesh or net. "The mask is very light and comfortable. After it has leon titled 1 go to work with my painting, endeavoring to match th-' |
