Show faff va ON 0 q 4 44 64 A tf S at orlan r I 0 YOU TOP know who pointed the spirit of al 71 N do aou know how old it Is ask ash these quip tl n rif if the th arliage american anan and he be will bbate livi ins liral he ir knows the incline well enough for lie he hos reen it hundreds of times Perli perhaps tips 14 he grew up cp in a home in which a lithographer lithographed litho graphed copy of it occupied a prominent place in fourth of jury parades too ton lie lias has seen living reproductions of it but further than his ability to recognize I 1 it lie he knows but little of its origin or of tho ih artist who ulio conceived it 14 this picture which has stirred th it patriotic sentiments of the nation was first exhibited at al the philadelphia centennial exposition lu in 1876 it ivas iras the work of a soldier archibald SI willard who saw service with the union forces during the civil war willard never drew any other picture which could compare in popularity with that single effort upon this one lie canvas alone rests ills fame furthermore the mork came dangerously near inear being nothing more than a caricature to live fr fir brief time lime and be ft the spirit of 70 76 never caused a sensation ns its a work of art says the ii new ew york world but achieved its mil universal versal popularity solely through its forceful appeal to the valor manhood and loie loe of country that Is rooted in the heart of every true A ie rican citizen ilag experts criticized it as being li Uri cally inaccurate for the banner used by the colonial bold soldiers lers in 1776 bad the crosses of saint george and saint andrew in the he canton whereas willard drew on an ensign containing thirteen stars and this dep wits was not dot originated until june 1777 clr willard once said sly my picture ws not painted in commemoration of or 1870 or tiny any other special period in the life of the nation but as an expression of the vital and ever ahing spirit of american patriotism lorn lora august 22 in ledford bedford a en all town west of cleveland ohio willard showed a fondness for drawing and painting from his boyhood duys days ills his career as an artist old did not begill however until as late as 1872 at that time he was following his trade la in wellington as a carriage maker a trade to which he be had been split entla ed us as a youth the actual work vork of nf constructing coaches did not to him film so go much as the highly interesting of painting the fin I 1 lied product in the elaborate fashion of f that day ills his skill with the brush was vas acknowledged by his associates ind he would drw little brightly col ord rw sketches etches bk on oil the bide of a car r ra ige that frequently would attract the fancy or of a prospective buyer at the suggestion of his employer willard one day undertook to produce something cheerful something comic this undertaking resulted in his first popular picture brou brought ills his work to the attention of Clev elands leading photographer and freed him forever from the labor of pluck number one was the title gl given ven to this creation and it succeeded with the public largely because it realistically portrayed childish ea eng ert aness kess and action willards Wll lards three chil dnn their soapbox soap box cart and their family dog gave the artist his idea tor for the sketch it showed vividly the youngsters boung wild ride trying their 0 0 A best to maintain their balance in the little wagon tossing this way and that as the dog to which it was harnessed was giving chase to a 0 suddenly aroused rabbit an official of the wagon works liked tte the picture so well that he be wanted it framed and sent it to cleveland for that purpose there it came to the attention of the cites leading art dealer and photographer james F ryder eyder who immediately classed it as a find As soon as the drawing had been framed ryder kyder personally carried it back to wellington to make the acquaintance of the artist ne ile was somewhat surprised to meet the originator of pluck number one on the second floor of the waon wagon shop but undaunted inquired imm immediately ed lately how did the race come out realizing that words could not convey a satisfactory answer willard wallard laid aside his averalle over ove atla ralle and got busy painting his answer pluck number two was speedily evolved it showed that the dog had won the art dealer was quick to capitalize the twin pictures chiomos were the tad fad then and the dealer had willards Wll lards pictures copyrighted with the artist as half owner before long lon ten thousand copies had been sold convincing ryder clyder that lie he had dlo dla covered a man of talent lie ile went ahead planning new ventures for hla his leaving wellington willard set up a studio la in cleveland in 1873 for a while lie he devoted ills his time to the tha drawing of cartoons many of which appeared in the count rys leading newspapers now for hla his masterpiece the spirit of 70 about a year befaro the opening of the exposition celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the signing of the declaration of independence the enterprising ryder was looking for something that would be appropriate for such an occasion finally it came to him it was wa as lie he explained it to willard yankee doodle just put yankee doodle into something the more original the better go to it and get it ready before the big chow opens the first method of treatment which naturally occurred to both men was wag along the line of the caricatures which they had produced so successfully up to that time in telling about abou t it afterward willard said that the mention of yankee doodle photographed on my mind three things the flag the fife and the drum and d h background naturally presented itself willards children had bad provided the material that inspired hla his first artistic success in pluck number one hla his father was to provide the inspiration tor for the production of his masterpiece this aged gentleman had come from wellington to pose tor for his son one day while working on his outline of it yankee doodle he caught a glint in the older mans eye and in a flash it was revealed to him what yankee doodle really meant 1 I could not go ahead any farther with the burlesque idea the artist said the real picture pushed everything else aside and went ahead and painted itself willards Wll lards father who thus aided so BO greatly in the creation of the spirit of 70 was a baptist minister rev daniel willard Wll lard born in vermont in 1801 the elder willard was in his seventy fourth year when he posed for the central figure in the group 4 the original fifer was one hugh moser a resident of a small town near cleveland rejected because of his age during the civil war he be was nevertheless erth eless considered essential at all patriotic gathering in the neighborhood where his fifine fifing was famous the drummer boy was wag posed by harry K devereux a cleveland lad ind nis ills father gen J 11 devereux a prominent railway president dent bought the painting after its showing in philadelphia washington boston and other cities the general presented it to his native town of Marble heul mass blass where it was hung in abbo hall library the picture itself Is eight feet wide and te ten B feet high it was begun during 1875 in the studio of willis adami in euclid avenue cleveland it was officially unveiled tit at the centennial the next year its first name dome yankee doodle was changed while the work was on exhibition in boston to it present title the spirit of 70 76 |