The Stone

• A sculpture needs to be mounted in a strong, durable, and stable housing for display, and sculptors often hire architects to create these structures. Daniel Chester French selected noted architect Henry Bacon (1866-1924) for this work. (Henry Bacon was not related to the Bacon branch of the Hazard family).
• Early in his career Bacon worked with the firm of McKim, Meade and White, with a role in the Boston Public Library, the Rhode Island State House, and the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Later, he collaborated often with French, also designing French’s home Chesterwood in the Berkshires. Bacon’s best known collaboration with French was the Lincoln Memorial. The Weaver was one of many small commissions the two took on while the Lincoln Memorial was under construction.
• The brownstone base and housing of the Weaver consist of a dozen or so pieces mortared together, most cut at precise right angles. In one place, two of the stones are cut at 45 degrees and seamlessly mitred together.
• Lines by Caroline Hazard appear above the sculpture:
• “LIFE SPINS THE THREAD TIME WEAVES THE PATTERN GOD DESIGNED
• THE FABRIC OF THE STUFF HE LEAVES TO MEN OF NOBLE MIND"
• The dedicatees' names and dates appear below the bronze, with another inscription on the back.
• The names of the sculptor and architect are carved into one side of the stone base. The same stone was used throughout the work. Color variations in  photographs reflect sunlight conditions only.
• The lettering is not attributed, but could have been done by Evelyn Beatrice Longman, who often worked with French and Bacon, including on the Lincoln Memorial.

Jessica Wilson