One afternoon recently I was wandering the halls of the Community Mausoleum at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. Although I have been there literally hundreds of times, every time I'm there I see something I hadn't seen or paid attention to before. In the 1929 Fourth Addition to the mausoleum, where the halls come together is an area covered by a glass dome. In addition, on the walls there are four very large sculptures representing the four seasons:
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| Winter |
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| Autumn |
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| Summer |
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| Spring |
I stopped and for the first time took a really close look at just how beautiful they are. Only one of the four, "Winter" is signed:
Everyone has heard of noted sculptor Leonard Volk, who is buried at Rosehill. I even told his story in my blog several years ago:
But Leon Hermant? Never heard of him. So I decided he would make a good subject for this blog. It was easy to find information about his many sculptures, but finding biographical material about him, including where he was buried, turned out to be very difficult. I am not the only person who has had trouble "digging up" information on Leon Hermant. This is from a "call with your problems and we'll help you" column from the Chicago Tribune of 05 July 1980 called the "Action Line":
The people at the Action Line were only able to provide a very sketchy biography of Hermant, but this was years before the information explosion caused by the Internet. So I decided to some "deep digging" and try to find out as much as I could about Rosehill's "forgotten" sculptor, Leon Hermant.
Let's start out with a photo:
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| Leon Hermant |
Isn't this photo wonderful? Doesn't he look just how you would expect a French sculptor to look? The only thing he is missing is a beret, but the hat jauntily perched on his head will suffice.
Leon Hermant was born Leon-Theodor Hermant on April 5, 1867 in Marson, France to Eugene Ernest Leonard Hermant (????-1891) and Marie Cedulie Aurelie Prinet (????-1891) Little else is know about his family, other than the fact that he married Palmyre-Angele Machet on February 2, 1891 when he was twenty-three years old. The marriage took place in Saint Memmie which is in the Marne region of north-eastern France.
Palmyre-Angele Machet was born November 6, 1873 in Saint Memmie. She was the daughter of Sulpice Machet (1843-1899) and Marie Severine Adrienne Remiet (1848-1900). After her marriage to Hermant, she seemed to fade into obscurity.
"Leon Hermann" first came to the United States on August 1, 1903, aboard the SS La Couraine, which sailed from Le Havre, France to New York. Leon listed his occupation as "Artist." He paid for his own passage, and was bringing more than $50.00 into the country with him. Interestingly, he also brought a wife "Maria," who was thirty-two years old. His goal was to be a part of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World's Fair which was held from April 30-December 1, 1904. He must have been successful because he was mentioned in an article in the St. Louis Republic newspaper from January 22, 1904 about the Club Francaise banquet. The Club Francaise was made up of artists, sculptors and writers who were in St. Louis for the exposition.
Leon Hermant was also connected with the "Diner Francaise." a bi-weekly dinner for French notables who came to the World's Fair.
On July 14, 1904, "French Day" at the Fair, Leon Hermant's sculpture of an allegorical representation of the French Republic was unveiled. The newspapers raved about Hermant's creation. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a photo of the statue.
In addition to the public adulation, Leon Hermant met someone at the Fair who would be a big part of his life for the next 23 years: Carl Beil (1857-1927). Beil was also a sculptor, and had been born in Germany. After he immigrated to the US, Beil served as Superintendent of Sculpture at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition and later at Fairs in Buffalo and the one Hermant was a part of in St. Louis. Beil and Hermant hit it off immediately and after the Fair was over, formed their partnership in 1905 which would last until Biel's death in 1927. Of their partnership, Beil was said to be the businessman, and Hermant the artist.
The United States was growing by leaps and bounds in this era, and both public and private concerns wanted to add sculptures to their buildings, parks and yes, even cemeteries. In 1912 the $2,000,000 Adolphus Hotel opened in Dallas, Texas. It was billed as "the most beautiful building west of Venice."
The beauty of the Adolphus was enhanced by Leon Hermant's sculptures of "Night" and "Morning" on the outside of the fifteenth floor:
On September 9, 1913 Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago proudly announced that Leon Hermant would be contributing his talent to their new community mausoleum:
Here are Hermant's magnificent sculptures on the outside of the Rosehill Mausoleum:
The 1914 Chicago City Directory showed Leon Hermant living at 4601 S. Calumet Avenue in Chicago. A house built in 2019 occupies that spot today. The Directory also noted his work address as "Beil & Hermant, 19 East Pearson in Chicago." A Loyola University high-rise occupies that spot today.
The Sioux Falls (SD) Argus Leader newspaper reported on July 03, 1918:
The architect for the cathedral was Emmanuel Masqueray, the French architect who previously has designed the Cathedral in St. Paul, Minnesota and served as the chief designer for the building of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. Masqueray and Hermant most likely met at the St. Louis Exposition and it was natural for Masqueray to ask his fellow countryman to provide sculptures to decorate the new cathedral. St. Joseph's Cathedral in Sioux Falls has of course been extensively renovated since it was built in 1918 and it is almost impossible to pick out what still remains from Hermant's original work but I am guessing that these might have have been done by him:
The first time that Leon Hermant participated in the US Census was in 1920. "Leon Homant" was living with dentist Raymond Prettyman and his wife Louise at 2567 72nd Place in Chicago as a "Roomer." A house built in 2010 occupies that spot today. Hermant told the census taker that he was forty-seven years old (he was fifty-three), that he was born in France, that he immigrated the the US in 1905 (it was 1903), and that he had submitted papers to become an American citizen. He said he could both read and write, and that his mother tongue was French. He also said he was "Single." No sign of either Palmyre-Angele or the "Maria" who came with him to the US in 1903.
It appears that Leon Hermant was a man of many talents. A May 16, 1922 article about him in the Chicago Tribune calls him a "Parisian Sculptor-Architect" and reported that he had written a play:
In 1924, Hermant was hired to create sculptures for the Delaware Bridge Joint Commission for a new bridge to connect Camden, New Jersey with Philadelphia. He created four identical bronze statues that once stood on flagpoles at the toll plazas on either end of the Delaware River Bridge, now known as the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. They were installed in 1926 when the bridge opened. According to the sculptor Leon Hermant, they celebrated man’s triumph over nature, referring to the fact that when the bridge opened, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
When the roadway was widened after World War II, the flagpoles were removed and the statues banished to storage, where they remained for more than 50 years. The DRPA restored the statues and returned them to public display on July 1, 2001 at the celebration of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge’s 75th anniversary. They are now on view in the lobby of One Port Center, the DRPA’s Camden headquarters:
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| Winged Victory statues by Leon Hermant on display in the Lobby of One Port Center |
In late 1924 it was announced that Hermant had been commissioned to do the work he is most remembered for today - the statue of Louis Pasteur. The statue was commissioned by the Alliance Francaise and was to be installed in one of the parks or along one of the boulevards in Chicago. The completed statue was originally installed in Grant Park, but in 1946 it was moved to the grounds of Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Here is a photo of the unveiling in 1928 in Grant Park:
Here's the statue as it stands today, outside the (Old) Cook County Hospital:
"One doesn't ask of
One who suffers: What
Is your country and
What is your religion?
One merely says, you
Suffer, this is enough
For me. You belong to
Me and I shall help you."
Louis Pasteur
On May 10, 1927 it was announced that among others, Leon Hermant has been awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor from the French government. Hermant received the award as recognition for his body of work, but most of all for his work in creating the Louis Pasteur memorial.
But Leon Hermant was not just collecting awards in 1927. He was also awarded the contract to design the statue of George Washington which was to be placed atop the dome of the courthouse in Washington, Pennsylvania. The following article describes part of the process Hermant went through to design one of his masterpieces. From the Monongahela (PA) Daily Republican of June 3, 1927:
And here's the finished product:
The panels were designed by George Unger in collaboration with architect Walter W. Ahlschlager but Hermant was chosen to do the actual sculpting. Here is one of the three panels today:
In addition to his work at the Medinah Athletic Club, Leon Hermant was hired in 1928 to create a sculpture called "To the Heroes of Illinois" which stands at the Memphis (TN) National Cemetery overlooking the graves of soldiers from Illinois who fought and died for the Union in the Civil War. The Illinois Monument was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1929. It consists of a pink and black granite base and sarcophagus, surmounted by a bronze figure of a deceased soldier lying atop a bier.
On November 3, 1929 the management of Rosehill Cemetery announced that they would be building the fourth addition to their community mausoleum. In Units 1-3, sales of both the family rooms and the crypts and niches had been brisk. In fact most of the family rooms in each unit had been sold before the construction of that phase had been completed.
Rosehill had been so pleased with Hermant's work on the outside of the mausoleum that they now asked him to come inside and produce the Four Seasons wall panels mentioned at the beginning of this article.
Hermant's reputation was such that his contribution to Unit 4 was mentioned in Rosehill's advertisements:
SPRINGHail bounteous May, that dost inspire
Mirth, and youth and warm desire
Hill and dale dost boast thy blessing
This we salute thee with our early song
and welcome and wishe thee long.
Milton.
SUMMER
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
........................................
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Shakespeare
AUTUMN
There is no death! The stars go down
To rise upon some other shore.
And bright in heaven's jeweled crown
They shine for evermore.
..........For all the universe is life...
There are no dead."
Maeterlink
WINTER
When once our heavenly souls shall climb
Then all earthly grossness quit.
Attired with stars we shall forever sit
Triumphing over death and change and thee
O time!
-Milton-
Leon Hermant
Sc
Here are the sculptures in place:
Another 1929 work of Hermant was in Evanston - the Shakespeare Garden at Northwestern University:
The 1929 work that Leon Hermant is most famous for, is the work that he did for the Gold Star Mothers to create a memorial to be part of the Illinois Centennial Building in Springfield:
Gold Star Mothers are mothers whose children (male or female) died in defense of the United States. The name of the memorial refers to the Gold Star Mothers Club, formed in the aftermath of World War I. A mother whose child had died in honorable military service while serving during the time of war was permitted to hang in her window a service flag with a gold star emblazoned on it.
Here is the finished product, dedicated December 11, 1930:
As he had ten years previously, Leon Hermant again participated in the US Census. This time it was for 1930. He was now living at 619 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. A modern high-rise occupies that spot today. He said he was fifty seven years old (he was 63). He said that he paid $160.00 per month rent, but he did not live alone. He had a "Partner," fifty six year old Marius Roussel. Both men said they were "Single." Leon Hermant said this time that he immigrated to the US in 1902 (it was 1903), and that he was now a naturalized citizen. Both men reported their occupation as "Artist" and the industry as "Sculptor." They did not report owning a radio. As with wives Palmyre-Angele and "Maria," partner Marius Roussel has faded into obscurity.
In 1930 Leon Hermant created another unusual sculpture. He was commissioned to carve a sculpture of a polar bear for the White Chapel Memorial Park in Troy, Michigan. It guards the graves of seventy members of the 339th Infantry and 330th Engineers. These were members of Michigan’s Polar Bear Division who made the supreme sacrifice in the far off frozen tundra of northern Russia during World War I. The famed memorial, was carved from a solid block of white Georgia marble. The sculpture was dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1930. It sits outside White Chapel's community mausoleum:
In 1932 Leon Hermant was commissioned by the Illinois Chapters of Daughters of the American Revolution to create a statue of General George Rogers Clark to be erected in Metropolis, Illinois at the former site of Fort Massac. Clark was honored for exploring and conquering vast stretches of land North and West of the Ohio River. The statue stands facing the Ohio River. Here is the statue when dedicated in 1932:
And here is the statue today:
In 1934 the Indiana Historical Library was built in Indianapolis. As part of the construction, Leon Hermant was commissioned to create ten sculpted panels in stone, each five feet by eight feet representing Indiana citizens. They are: Explorer, Soldier, Pioneer, Farmer, Lawmaker, Miner, Builder, Manufacturer, Educator, and Aspiring Citizen. I could not find photos of all the panels, but here is a sample:
I have not pictured or even mentioned, all of the sculptures done by Leon Hermant during his career. He was a prolific sculptor and as his reputation grew, so did the requests for his work. We will probably never know all of Hermant's work - in addition to his many public monuments he also did sculptures for people to enjoy in their homes. Wikipedia lists eight public monuments and twelve architectural sculptures created by Hermant; Artnet lists auction results for five of his non-public works auctioned since 2000. Prabook lists twenty public works attributed to Hermant. The French Sculpture Census lists fifty-six works of Hermant. As I said, we will probably never know all of the works sculpted by Leon Hermant.
As shown above, even during the Great Depression Hermant continued to receive commissions for his work. But, as busy as he was, his age began to catch up with Leon Hermant. On February 7, 1936 when he was 68 years old (the newspaper said he was 62), the Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer reported the following:
The sad news announcing the death of Leon Hermant was reported in the Chicago Tribune on December 14, 1936:
According to his obituary, he was living at 22 East Ontario Street in Chicago above the L'Aigion Restaurant. A parking garage occupies that space today. Here is his Death Certificate:
The Certificate said he died "About December 12." When his body was discovered it was thought he had been dead for about three days. Unfortunately most of the spaces on the Death Certificate are filled with "Unknown," but it does say that he died of heart disease. The Death Certificate lists his age as "about 65"; the newspaper obituary said he was 70; he was actually 69 years old when he died.
Now the story takes an unexpected turn. This is from the Montreal (Canada) Gazette from 15 Dec 1936:
Where did all his money go??? Yes, 1936 was in the middle of the Great Depression, but Hermant had worked steadily since he arrived in the US in 1903 - even during the Depression. He was not married, and had no children, so his money wasn't going to them. I doubt that the rent was high on an apartment over a restaurant - but all his money was gone.
I saw in the Illinois Death Record that he was interred at Acacia Park Cemetery in Chicago. I contacted Acacia Park and they told me they had no record of a "Leon Hermant." I suggested that he may have been cremated at Acacia Park but interred someplace else. They told me that even if he had just been cremated there, they would have a record, but they did not.
However, after an extensive search they were able to give me the following information:
First, the original paperwork from the county listed him as LEON HERMONT.
The person or persons in charge of him listed are: The French Council, 909 N. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL.
Date of Death - 12/12/1936, Cremated - 12/16/1936 at 1:00 p.m.
Funeral Home: Shute (Chicago)
Place of Death: 22 E. Ontario Street, Chicago, IL
Age at time of Death: 65
Friend: Dr. M.M. Reslett, 58 E. Washington Street, Chicago, IL
Dr. Reslett is listed as a friend. He took the ashes home for a short time and then he also signed an agreement with Acacia Park to have Leon Hermant's ashes "Strewn under the Pines".
Long story short....Mr. Hermant was scattered under pine trees at Acacia Park Cemetery in Chicago. Which pine trees? Unfortunately the records do not say.
So parts of the story of the famous French-American sculptor Leon Hermant will have to remain a mystery. For example, What happened to his first wife Palmyre-Angele Machet? His second wife "Maria?" His "Partner" Marius Roussel? Why did he die broke and alone? What happened to all his money?
Leon Hermant, noted Chicago sculptor - may he rest in peace "under the pines."
Special thanks to the researcher who was able to "dig up" the details about the disposition of Leon Hermant's remains.
