The Hill is home to 23 outdoor statues, but every day, students overlook the artwork. It only takes a glance to see a part of KU's past through these icons' eyes.
professor "Uncle Jimmy"
Green and his mysterious
student companion have
stood and watched more than
70 Homecoming parades
travel down Jayhawk Bou-
levard. They are 2,000 pounds
of bronze, their facial expressions unchanging since their forging in a Chicago studio.
Where statues are stationed
They make up one of the best known of the University of Kansas' 23 outdoor statues.
Best-known is a generous term, though. Many KU students probably wouldn't be able to describe the statue in front of Lippincott Hall.
There is also the Victory Eagle in front of Dyche Hall, the bronze Jayhawk in front of Strong Hall and the Owlin in front of Sooner Hall.
And the Pioneer, who has stood and stared at the ground in front of him for 139 years, his shovel half-buried in the bronze soil, started them all.
place to place because no provision had been made for a permanent setting for him, now stands in front of Fraser, high above the beautiful valley where the men he typifies made their brave struggle against the hardships of the early days." KU's Graduate Magazine said in 1928.
"The Bronze man. who was moved about from
Source: Graduate Magazine, staff report
Its sculptor, F.C. Hibbard of Chicago, is identified by faded letters near the man's left boot. The statue stands south of Fraser Hall, surrounded by its own overgrown garden and a bench rarely sat upon, near the original spot from which the University first sprouted.
Two hundred paces away stands James Woods Green, the University's much-loved dean of law from 1879 to 1919. Green stands with a male student in a posture of guidance and conversation.
"Two men looking scholarly," as Tim Larsen, Layton, Utah, graduate student put it. "I've always wondered about that one."
The statue and its base cost as much as Green Hall itself cost to build. The bill topped $45,000.
"The student's counselor and friend," the
ABOVE: The bronze Jayhawk, a gift from the class of 1956, perches in front of Strong Hall. ABOVE RIGHT: The Pioneer, a bronze statue of a laboring farmer, stands south of Fraser Hall. More than 139 years old, the statue is the oldest of KU's 23 outdoor sculptures.
statue reads.
"Erected by those who loved him."
At the time, it was the only life-sized statue of a faculty member on any campus in the United States, according to a 1928 issue of Graduate Maaazine.
The mystery, however, was the identity of the student with Green.
The student wears old-fashioned engineering boots and a football letterman's sweater. His significance of being an engineering student was due to an ongo
ing feud between the engineering and law students at that time, according to "The University of Kansas, a History," by Clifford Griffin. The law professor's friendship with the student was an appeal for peace between the students, the book said.
The student originally was identified as Alfred Alford, an engineering student who attended the University from 1894-98 and later was killed in the Spanish-American War. Alford's family argued about the statue's similarity to him.
The debate went on for decades because the student was claimed to resemble two other students from the late 19th century.
A letter to Graduate Magazine in 1963 identified Bob Moseby, a former Delta Upsilon, football player and engineering student, as the model. A case also was made for Gordon Saunders, an engineering student and athlete whose features resembled the statue's.
The mystery remains. Administrators at the time argued that the statue represented the spirit and enthusiasm in academics rather than any specific student. KU historians quietly decided that Moseby was the model.
There's no mistaking the identity of perhaps the University's best-known outdoor statues, however.
The bronze Jayhawk, a gift of the class of 1966, had a hard time finding a home on campus. It eventually was perched in front of Strong Hall, one of 23 works of art that some students file past each day without a glance.
There are the gargoyles on top of Dyche Hall and the Victory Eagle in front, the Water Carrier and the owl at Spooner Hall.
Erin Thompson, Wichita freshman, drew a blank at identifying a campus statue.
"Sorry." she said. "I'm not sure."
Cultural Calendar
EXHIBITIONS & LECTURES
Exhibition — Figurative Drawings by KU Faculty, Sunday through Dec. 1 at the Art and Design Gallery.
Exhibition — "Image and Text," a Tour du Jour sponsored by the Spencer Museum of Art, 12:15 p.m. tomorrow at the museum.
Exhibition - "The Great Pretenders: Photographs of Elvis Impersonators," through Nov. 29 at the Art Gallery at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, 50th and Cherry streets, Kansas City, Mo.
Lecture — "The Body as Sight/The Body as Site," by John Pultz, 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Spencer Museum of Art.
PERFORMANCES
Department of Music and Dance presents a Master's Recital, featuring Honor O'Hea, 7:30 tonight at Swarthout Recital Hall. Free.
Department of Music and Dance presents a Doctoral Recital, featuring Nobuko Amemiya, 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Swarthout Recital Hall. Free.
University Theatre presents "West Side Story," 8 p.m. tomorrow, Friday and Saturday at Crafton-Preyer Theatre. Tickets are $15, $14 and $7.50.
Carnegie Art Center presents the aha! dance theater, 7:30 p.m. Friday at the center, 601 S. Fifth St., Leavenworth.
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Kansas City Symphony presents Main,
Bravo! CHEERS! for Singles, 8 p.m. Friday
and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Lyric Theater,
11th and Central streets, Kansas City, Mo. Tickets
$14-$28.
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