Image: This statue of Burns in Central Park, New York City did not meet Carnegie’s approval.
Andrew Carnegie was a lifelong admirer of Robert Burns. In fact, according to his autobiography the first penny he ever earned was one from his school teacher, Mr. Martin, for repeating in front of the class the Burns’ poem, ‘Man was Made to Mourn’! Although Carnegie was not as interested in fine arts as some of his contemporaries, such as Henry C. Frick, he did donate money towards some well-known monuments to Robert Burns both in the USA and Scotland. In honour of recent Burns Night, let’s discover the stories behind some of them!
In October 1880, the first ever statue of Robert Burns outwith Scotland was unveiled in Central Park in New York. It received high praise from the general public and press - copies of it were even cast for Dundee and London as well as Dunedin in New Zealand. However, Andrew Carnegie was not impressed. He had not been involved in the commission of this work, and was not afraid to make his opinions heard. He stated that the monument was an outrage and depicted Burns “in the form of a hump-backed simpleton”! The statue was still in his mind in 1883 when he was invited to contribute towards erecting a statue of Burns in Montrose, Scotland. Although Carnegie only covered a small fraction of the monument’s cost (£20 out of £600), he insisted that the New York sculpture should not be replicated. His wish was granted, and he proudly attended the statue’s unveiling ceremony. This appears to be his first contribution towards a monument to the famous Scottish Bard.
Andrew Carnegie unveiling the statue of Burns in Montrose. Due to various complications the Montrose statue was not completed until 1912. (ACBM 1928/873)
Carnegie’s second gift towards immortalising the image of Robert Burns was the bust he presented to the Wallace Monument in 1886. The sculptor, David Watson Stevenson, was chosen by the monument’s custodians - luckily, Carnegie was pleased with the outcome! The bust is still on display in the Wallace Monument’s Hall of Heroes - it was, in fact, the first bust that was installed there. Although Carnegie loved Stevenson’s depiction of Burns, his favourite sculpture of the poet was created not by a Scottish artist, but an American, Charles Calverley. Calverley cast a life-size bust of Burns for Carnegie’s New York home and, at Carnegie’s request, also for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can still see it in the museum’s American Wing.
A claim can be found in various publications that Andrew Carnegie wanted a bust of Burns to be placed in all libraries he financed. A wonderful story which, sadly, appears to be a myth! Carnegie did, however, donate volumes of Burns’ work to various museums and Burns Clubs both in Scotland and in the USA. His love for Burns was so well-known that when the Kilmarnock Town Council received a letter in 1904 stating that Andrew Carnegie was going to donate half a million pounds to build a Burns Temple in Kilmarnock, nobody suspected any different. The letter was in fact a fake - a prank instigated by local civic officer, William Munro! Once the truth was uncovered, Munro was asked to resign and to make a £50 donation to the local infirmary!
Image: Cartoon by Rodger Stationer lampooning the Burns Temple hoax in Kilmarnock, 1904.
Although busts of Burns do not adorn 2,800+ Carnegie libraries around the world, Carnegie was, in fact, keen to immortalise his favourite poet in his first American hometown, Pittsburgh. He asked for Burns’ name to be added on the facade of his new library building in Pittsburgh. Alas, the building committee overruled his wish, stating that Robert Burns was not famous enough! Carnegie was disappointed, but he did not give up. Instead, he arranged to raise a monument to Robert Burns in Schenley Park near the museum building. He unveiled the statue during his last visit to Pittsburgh in 1914.
Image: Statue of Burns in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
I hope you enjoyed these small stories about Carnegie and Burns - why not go and see some of these sculptures during your next holiday?
