An exceptional pair of giltwood, gesso and carved eagles. Consisting each of an eagle with outspread wings, arrows and flags in both silver and gold gilt, distinctly carved claws and garland, also in silver and gold gilt. Each rests atop a column, with shield, arrow and quiver, with the columns having a silver gilt ground. Ca. 1910s-1920s, Possibly New York or Continental.

These outstanding eagle carvings each rest atop a squared base, each bearing a plaque that reads the following: In Memory of Alexander Pope Humphrey Jr. Flying Cadet, 139th U.S. Aero Squadron. Fort Worth December 12, 1917

Each ht. 79"
Each 36" at widest point of wingspan

Alexander Pope Humphrey, Jr.- Louisville, KY

Alexander Pope Humphrey, Jr. (1883-1917) passed away from a plane crash at Camp Teliaferro, Fort Worth, Texas during a training flight toward the latter end of WWI. The plaques indicate the date of December 12th, which is corroborated by a newspaper account from December 16th (The Tennessean), which indicated that the late Mr. Humphrey Jr.'s sister, and her husband, Mr. Edward P. Mellon, were arriving to Louisville for the funeral service.

Humphrey Jr.'s father, Alexander Pope Humphrey (1848-1928) was an enormously influential Louisvillian. His law career led him to represent a number of expansion driven railroad companies. He served as a judge, and also was a philanthropist landowner. He was a founder of the Filson Club, Louisville's current day historical society, and also a once president of the Pendennis Club, a gentleman's club in Louisville that still operates today. He built and resided at "Fincastle", a stately home whose grounds were designed by the Olmstead firm Of New York. It was here that Humphrey's daughter Ethel was married to Edward Mellon, grandson of the magnate Thomas Mellon, to much fanfare and reporting at the time.

By any measure, carved and gilt eagle specimens of this quality and stature bear few comparisons to American workshops during the early 20th and late 19th centuries. Important carvers such as Stapf, Bellamy and Schimmel produced a more stylized and naive eagle subject, and the examples offered here bear a stronger comparison to those Italian and French examples produced during the 19th century. One plausible explanation for their 1917 designation as a memorial to the late Alexander Pope Humphrey Jr. could be that of Humphrey Jr.’s sister, Ethel Humphrey (Mellon), who was then living in Paris with Mr. Edward Mellon (1875-1953), an heir to the Pittsburgh fortune of that namesake and certainly would have been of the means to transport as a memorial these eagles to Louisville, producing a plaque in his honor. Even so, works of this magnitude still have few comparisons in quality with those French or Italian examples. The giltwork, carving and stylization are indicative of 18th/19th century French examples. However, few comparisons could be discovered of instances with such splendid applied silver gilt, or large eagles situated on ornate columns which echoed this theme. It is more than likely that the eagles were carved for some other purpose initially, though were befitting a memorial of an American soldier, and thus were applied a plaque in his name.

There are several areas in which gilt is worn and some plaster is lost, especially to one shield of one carving, though the majority of the pieces remain.  Given the fragile nature of either carving, they remain in a remarkable state of preservation.  Each eagle is pegged into its column.