Douglas Tilden – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

California Volunteers Memorial on Market Street

Posted by Cindy on July 17, 2012

Jul 172012

Market Street at Dolores

Mission/Castro

California Volunteers by Douglas Tilden – Bronze on a granite base

Dedicated August 12, 1906

Erected by the Citizens of San Francisco

In Honor Of

The California Volunteers

Spanish American War

1898

First to The Front

At the end of the Spanish-American War, when the troops returned, San Franciscans went wild. Sixty-five thousand dollars was raised, $25,000 of which was allocated for a memorial. Douglas Tilden won the national competition. California Volunteers, a bronze work sixteen feet high and ten feet long mounted atop a granite base ten feet high, stands at the corner of Market and Dolores Streets. The monument shows an American soldier, with pointed gun in one hand and a sword in the other, standing over a fallen comrade, a cannon nearby. Above them the goddess of war, Bellona, is astride the winged horse Pegasus.

This sculpture originally sat at the corner of Van Ness and Market but as the city of San Francisco grew, the sculpture had to be moved from its original location. In 1917 it was moved about eleven feet and in 1925 it was moved from Van Ness and Market Streets to Market and Dolores Streets.

It is maintained by the San Francisco Arts Commission.

Tilden remained a recluse for most of his life and died in 1935. In 1987, many of Tilden’s personal artworks were discovered in an abandoned storage facility.

Golden Gate Park – Father Junipero Serra

Posted by Cindy on March 7, 2012

Mar 072012

Golden Gate Park

Father Junipero Serra by Douglas Tilden

This is Father Junipero Serra, one of the most studied men in California history. Born November 24, 1713, Serra was a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the chain of missions that go from Mexico to San Francisco, California, he died August 28, 1784. Father Serra was such a vital part of California history, that every public school child in California learns of his life.

The shrubbery has grown up to cover most of the friar but his base, designed by architect Edgar A. Mathews, reads Padre Junipero Serra – Founder of the California Missions 1713-1784. Also inscribed in the base is October 9, 1776. This is the official founding date of the first Mission San Francisco de Asis, known to most at Mission Dolores. The stone for the base was taken from Monterey County at the spot where Serra first landed in California.

The statue was commissioned by James Phelan and executed by Douglas Tilden, who was responsible for many of the statues in Golden Gate Park. Tilden completed the plaster statue in his Oakland studio in March of 1906. Luckily it survived the earthquake, and the statue was dedicated in Golden Gate Park in November 1907, the bronze casting having been done at The American Bronze Company in Chicago.

UPDATE: June 20, 2020

The statue was pulled down by protestors. The fate of the statue is unknown at this time. This post will be updated as events unfold.

Notification San Francisco Mayor London Breed:

“There is very real pain in this country rooted in our history of slavery and oppression, especially against African-Americans and Indigenous people. I know that pain all too well. But the damage done to our park last night went far beyond just the statues that were torn down, and included significant damage to Golden Gate Park. Every dollar we spend cleaning up this vandalism takes funding away from actually supporting our community, including our African-American community. I say this not to defend any particular statue or what it represents, but to recognize that when people take action in the name of my community, they should actually involve us. And when they vandalize our public parks, that’s their agenda, not ours.

If we are going to make real change, let’s do the work with our impacted communities to make that change. To do that, I have asked the Arts Commission, the Human Rights Commission, and the Recreation and Parks Department and its Commission to work with the community to evaluate our public art and its intersection with our country’s racist history so that we can move forward together to make real changes in this City. Who and what we honor through our public art can and should reflect our values.”

Golden Gate Park – Apple Cider Press

Posted by Cindy on February 17, 2012

Feb 172012

Golden Gate Park

The Apple Cider Press by Thomas Shields Clark

*This 1892 Bronze sculpture was originally exhibited at the Midwinter International Exposition in 1894. The Apple Cider Bronze bears some resemblance to Douglas Tilden’s Mechanics Monument located on Market street in that it bears tribute to the value of hard work. However, this purchase and contribution by DeYoung was apparently inspired by art rather than memorial, since the only cider industry of note in the San Francisco Bay Area is Martinelli’s (1868) located in Watsonville, down the peninsula.

This statue was originally a drinking fountain with a cup attached by a chain, and some say it ran with cider instead of water.

Thomas Shields Clark graduated from Princeton University in 1882. He was a pupil of the Art Students League, New York, and of the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, later he entered the atelier of Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret, and, becoming interested in sculpture, he worked for a while under Henri Chapu. As a sculptor, he received a medal of honor in Madrid for his Cider Press.

Golden Gate Park – Our National Pastime

Posted by Cindy on February 16, 2012

Feb 162012

Golden Gate Park

Our National Pastime by Douglas Tilden – 1889

Presented

to the Golden Gate Park

by a friend of the sculptor

as a tribute to his

energy, industry and ability

Cruet Fondeur, Paris

(John Cruet was a moldmaker in Paris, he also worked with Rodin. Fondeur means owner of the foundry)

Tilden originally displayed the piece as part of the American Exhibit at the Paris International Exposition, where it was extremely well received. It is widely recognized as the single most famous and classic baseball figural art piece ever created. As a result of its popularity at the time, a very small number of replicas was ordered by Tiffany’s. While the exact number of Tiffany replica’s produced is uncertain (possibly as few as four), only three have ever surfaced (two are 34 inches in height, the other 21 inches), one of which is on permanent exhibit in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2006 a newly minted small replica sold for over $18,000.

Tilden, sculptor of the Mechanics Memorial on Market Street, remained a recluse for most of his life and died in 1935. In 1987, many of Tilden’s personal artworks were discovered in an abandoned storage facility.

The original base, made of sandstone at the turn of the century, was too badly worn to be refurbished. The new base is made of mahogany granite with a carved-raised panel and gold leaf lettering was done in November, 1998.

Our National Pastime is on JFK Drive across the street from the Conservatory of Flowers.

Mechanics Monument

Posted by Cindy on March 28, 2001

Mar 282001

Market at Bush and Battery

Mechanics Monument

Douglas Tilden

This sculpture by Douglas Tilden was one of three major art works for the Market Street Beautification Project at the turn of the 20th century. It was funded with a bequest of $25,000 from James Mervyn Donahue, the son of the late Peter Donahue, who in 1850 started the state’s first ironworks and machine shop, established the first gas company for street lighting in the city in 1852, and later initiated the first streetcar line.

Commissioned to create a monument for the Donahues, Tilden had difficulty finding an idea. Taking a walk on Mission Street, he passed an open-air machine shop and spotted a sweat-drenched, muscular man operating a “punch press” machine. Thinking of how Donahue began his empire, he envisioned an oversized version of a punch press in bronze, with five men struggling to operate it. The Donahues were skeptical when seeing his sketches, but Mayor Phelan, who had been a great patron of Tilden, insisted that the sculptor have freedom of expression to create an enduring monument that would be a tribute to all those who had toiled to make the Peter Donahue fortune – it would be a greater tribute.”

The Mechanics, was unveiled in 1901. The immodesty of his design set tongues wagging; fortunately, the lobby to make pants for the sculpture failed.

This photograph was taken after the 1906 earthquake.

Admission Day Monument on Market Street

Posted by Cindy on March 21, 2001

Mar 212001

Admission Day Monument

Market, Post and Montgomery Streets

Like the Mechanics Monument down the street, this work is by Douglas Tilden. Commissioned by Mayor James D. Phelan and unveiled on September 5, 1897. The monument commemorates the admission of California into the Union. The angel atop the statue is said to have been modeled after the artist’s wife. The angel carries an open book, inscribed “September 9, 1850” the date California became a state. The miner holds a pick behind his back, is armed with a six-shooter and is waving a flag in his left hand. The monument stood for 51 years at the intersection of Mason, Turk and Market streets. It was moved to Golden Gate Park in 1948 and returned to Market, Post and Montgomery streets in 1977 after lobbying by the Native Sons.

The unity of our empire hangs on the decision of this day. W.H. Seward

On the Admission of California U.S. Senate 1850

This fountain is dedicated to the native sons of the Golden West to commemorate the admission of California into the union. September the Ninth Anno Domini MDCCL

Tilden lead a fascinating and somewhat tragic life. An interesting biography can be read here.

The bear is the symbol of California, however, I tried everywhere to find out the significance of the octopus, to no avail. I did find this – but have NO way of knowing if there is an actual connection. The Octopus: A Story of California is a 1901 novel by Frank Norris and the first part of a planned but uncompleted trilogy, The Epic of Wheat. It describes the raising of wheat in California, and conflicts between the wheat growers and a railway company. Norris was inspired by the role of the Southern Pacific Railroad in events surrounding the Mussel Slough Tragedy. It depicts the tension between the corrupt railroad and the ranchers and the ranchers’ League. The book emphasized the control of “forces” such as wheat and railroads over individuals. Some editions of the work give the subtitle as alternately, A California Story.