Whither the Lions?

Last week, a reader tipped me off to the fact that the lions which once flanked the entrance to 400 State Street were missing.

Discovering what had happened to the lions wasn't difficult. The mystery of their disappearance was solved with a simple email to Emily Chameides, the director of the Hudson Area Library, who explained that the lions were in storage at the library's new location in the former armory. The removal of the lions, however, raises a question: Should they move with the library, or should they stay with the building?

It is generally accepted that the lions were installed by Captain George H. Power, who from 1865 to 1881, made the building his residence and lived there with his family: his wife, Adeline; six children, four daughters and two sons, ranging in age (in 1865) from 25 to 3; and an Irish-born domestic named Ellen Leach. On May 12, 1866, this item appeared in the Hudson Daily Register, reporting on the work underway at 400 State Street.

Among the larger improvements in the city this Spring is that being made by Capt. Geo. H. Power, on his residence in State Street, formerly occupied by the Rev. J. B. Hague as a Seminary for young ladies. The building, when completed, will be a decided ornament to that part of our city, as extensive alterations and improvements have been made since its purchase.

It is reasonable to imagine that the lions were part of those extensive alterations and improvements made in 1866. As art, they seem more domestic than institutional. Unlike the pairs of lions that flank the entrances to the New York Public Library and the Art Institute of Chicago--both in each pair assuming the same pose, head raised, noble and vigilant--one of the lions at the entrance to 400 State Street was asleep and one was awake.

A little research uncovered this possible lineage for the lions. A pair of lions--one asleep, one awake--was created in 1792 by the Italian artist Antonio Canova for the tomb of Pope Clement XIII at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

According to one source, in the early 19th century, there was a new interest in sculpture in the classical style, and the most popular neoclassical sculptor of the time, throughout Europe, was Antonio Canova. Canova's lions seem to have been particularly popular. The Canova workshop may have produced several pairs, and they inspired imitations. By the middle of the 19th century, their popularity seems to have spread to the United States and to Hudson.  

Today, replicas of the Canova lions created for the tomb of Clement XIII are mounted at the entrance to the Wisteriahurst Museum in Holyoke, MA.

You can also buy replicas of the lions, especially the sleeping one, full-size and in miniature, from dealers in this country and in the UK.

It seems clear that the cast-iron lions at 400 State Street were inspired by the Canova lions. 

But to return to the question of whether the lions should go with the library or stay with the building, consider this. The lions have been associated with the library for 57 years, since the library's founding in 1959, by virtue of the fact that they were attached to the building where the library was located. On the other hand, the lions have been with the building for 150 years--for three-quarters of its 198-year existence--and are a part of its history.
COPYRIGHT 2016 CAROLE OSTERINK