(Bronze Plaque from Heart's Delight Farm, Chazy, New York), (sculpture).

(Bronze Plaque from Heart's Delight Farm, Chazy, New York), (sculpture).

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907, sculptor.

(Bronze Plaque from Heart's Delight Farm, Chazy, New York), (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Approx. H. 3 t. x W. 5 ft. x D. 6 in.

(Across center of plaque, in raised letters:) Think truly, and thy thoughts / Shall the world's famine feed; / Speak truly, and each word of thine / Shall be a fruitful seed; / Live truly and thy life shall be / A great and noble creed. / Horatius Bonar unsigned

Rectangular plaque with two angels flanking lines from the second stanza of the poem "Be True" by Horatius Bonar. On either side of the inscription there is an angel holding a tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments in Hebrew. The tablet held by the angel on the left is inscribed with the first five commandments and the tablet held by the angel on the right is inscribed with the last five commandments. Under the text of the poem, near the top of the plaque is an image in low relief of the Freemason winged disk and along the bottom in low relief are 7 Celtic crosses inside seven squares.

Religion -- Angel

Literature -- Bonar -- Be True

Owned by Restricted Owner, Hayden, Idaho

On loan to Salvation Army, 1765 West Golf Course Road, Croc Center, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83815

Formerly in the collection of Miner, William H., Heart's Delight Farm, Chazy, New York ca. 1908.

Foster, Jan & William, Kansas City, Missouri ca. 1970s-1980s.

The plaque was installed in 1908 over the fireplace in the dining room of Harmony Hall, the social retreat for dignitaries, politicians and the financial elite of the era. Guests included Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, B.F. Goodrich, and Harvey Firestone. Harmony Hall was on the property of Heart's Delight Farm owned by William H. Miner in Chazy, New York. The plaque was later moved to the "teacherage" Grey Gables built across from the school in 1916 on the farm property. The plaque was installed in the central dining room where it hung over the fireplace. The former owners acquired the plaque when they puchased Grey Gables in the 1970s. The plaque was later removed for safekeeping in the 1970s when Grey Gables became a target for vandalism. For additional information and image of the plaque installed at Harmony Hall see "Hearts Delight Farm" published in 1915, printed by Lammers Shilling Company, Chicago.

Foster, Jan & William, 2003.

Owner, 2013, 2017.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System