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ERNEST MOORE ("DICK") VIQUESNEY
August 5th, 1876 - October 4, 1946
SCULPTOR OF
"THE SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN DOUGHBOY"
SCULPTOR OF
"THE SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN DOUGHBOY"
E. M. Viquesney’s grandfather was Charles Alfred Viquesney, a stonecarver born 1802 in the Caen, Calvados area of France who came to the United States in 1842, establishing a farm near what is now the city of Belington, Barbour County, West Virginia. Charles A. returned to France in the 1850s or '60s with his wife and youngest son, leaving his other four sons in the U. S. (one of whom also eventually returned to France). One of the remaining three sons who stayed permanently in the U. S. was Alfred Paul Viquesney, who moved to Indiana in the late 1860s. Alfred Paul eventually settled in Spencer, Indiana around 1874, where he set up a stonecarving and monuments business. It was here that his son, Ernest Moore Viquesney, learned the trade early on.
Ernest Moore Viquesney, the only child of Alfred Paul and Jane [Lehman] Viquesney, was born in Spencer August 5, 1876, and lived there most of his life. He was known locally around town as "Dick", though it's not known how he got that nickname (his first wife, Cora Barnes, called him "Dickie" as a pet name). He learned sculpting, engraving and carving from his father, and was also a portrait artist in his youth. When he died in 1946, some Spencer families still had crayon portraits he had created in his youth. It’s been said that he sometimes gave small plaster sculptures to neighbor children who broke them into pieces to use as chalk to mark up the sidewalks.
Viquesney served in the Spanish American War and was stationed at Pensacola, Florida at least part of that time. Later, he was commander of the Spencer Spanish American War Veterans post on more than one occasion, and held that position at the time of his death. Dick Viquesney married Cora Barnes in 1904, and during the 17 years from 1905 until early 1922, 16 were spent living and working in Georgia, and most of that time in Americus. The Viquesneys also lived briefly in other places such as Atlanta, Canton and Marietta, Georgia; Shelbyville, Indiana; Peoria, Illinois; and Hackensack, New Jersey.
Ernest Moore Viquesney, the only child of Alfred Paul and Jane [Lehman] Viquesney, was born in Spencer August 5, 1876, and lived there most of his life. He was known locally around town as "Dick", though it's not known how he got that nickname (his first wife, Cora Barnes, called him "Dickie" as a pet name). He learned sculpting, engraving and carving from his father, and was also a portrait artist in his youth. When he died in 1946, some Spencer families still had crayon portraits he had created in his youth. It’s been said that he sometimes gave small plaster sculptures to neighbor children who broke them into pieces to use as chalk to mark up the sidewalks.
Viquesney served in the Spanish American War and was stationed at Pensacola, Florida at least part of that time. Later, he was commander of the Spencer Spanish American War Veterans post on more than one occasion, and held that position at the time of his death. Dick Viquesney married Cora Barnes in 1904, and during the 17 years from 1905 until early 1922, 16 were spent living and working in Georgia, and most of that time in Americus. The Viquesneys also lived briefly in other places such as Atlanta, Canton and Marietta, Georgia; Shelbyville, Indiana; Peoria, Illinois; and Hackensack, New Jersey.
Clark's Monumental Works, Americus, Georgia, 1907. Graphic: Sumter Historic Trust, Inc.
Viquesney was employed in Americus by, among others, Clark’s Monumental Works (above) and Schneider’s Marble Company, and was involved in the design/construction of monuments placed in the nearby National Cemetery at the Andersonville Civil War Prison site. He stated (in his own self-written obituary) that he knew sculptor Gutzon Borglum (of Mount Rushmore fame), and it's been speculated, but not verified, that he worked with him in some capacity related to Borglum's Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial sculptures. Viquesney created his most known work, "The Spirit of The American Doughboy," in 1920 in Americus beginning with sketches made in 1918 while working at Schneider. During his lifetime, he also made several other monuments and sculptures both life-size and in miniature.
After his final return to Spencer in 1922, Viquesney continued to be involved in sculpting and other business pursuits. Those included the construction of an office building and the Tivoli Theatre, with an unusually large pipe organ, in Spencer. He lost the theatre in 1932 due to financial difficulties, and he sold his office building in 1939, moving his art studio into his residence on Fletcher Ave. Despite these setbacks, he still managed to achieve moderate financial success over the span of his career. With respect to the Tivoli, Viquesney undoubtedly knew of Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, but humorously told people in Spencer that "TIVOLI" stood for "This Is Viquesney's Own Little Idea". After suffering two fires in the 1980s and 1990s, reopening, and then falling into disrepair, the Tivoli was finally closed in 1998. It was scheduled for demolition but was bought at the last moment and fully restored to its original 1928 grandeur. The grand reopening took place on April 11, 2013.
In January, 1923, Viquesney formed the Beaver Club of Spencer, which, by its constitution and by-laws, was to be Beaver Dam No. 1 chartered by the National Beaver Dam of the U.S.A. A photograph believed to have been taken at the club’s 1931 Christmas party and more information is included on our Viquesney Archive site. It isn’t known whether any other local Beaver clubs were formed. There is a report that Viquesney once bought a load of monkey skins to have a coat made for Cora, indicating he had a sense of humor. It’s hoped that Cora did, too. On October 2, 1933, Cora contracted what at first appeared to be a bad cold, but which doctors later diagnosed as diphtheria. It gradually closed her throat until her breathing stopped and she died early the following morning, Tuesday, October 3.
Viquesney then married Betty Sadler, an accomplished organist, in 1936. They had ten happy years together, and drove to Bloomington, Indiana almost nightly for two years during World War II so Betty could entertain servicemen at the United Service Organization (USO). Betty died in August 1946, and Viquesney told several Spencer friends he was about to break from the loss. While his writings indicate he had deep religious convictions, he became despondent over Betty’s death, his own failing health, and the fact that, except for his half-brother Bert, he was the only one left from his line. As a result, he took his own life by asphyxiation in his car in his garage October 4, 1946, one day after the thirteenth anniversary of Cora’s death. He left a note saying he just could not go on, plans for his funeral, his will, and a lengthy, self-written obituary. He concluded the obituary with "So closes the book, the story ends. Dick rests with those he loved…his father and mother, Cora, Dick and Betty all lie now with Dick’s beautiful statue, 'The Unveiling', looking down on their graves where they sleep..." Viquesney had no children, so there are no direct descendants.
After his final return to Spencer in 1922, Viquesney continued to be involved in sculpting and other business pursuits. Those included the construction of an office building and the Tivoli Theatre, with an unusually large pipe organ, in Spencer. He lost the theatre in 1932 due to financial difficulties, and he sold his office building in 1939, moving his art studio into his residence on Fletcher Ave. Despite these setbacks, he still managed to achieve moderate financial success over the span of his career. With respect to the Tivoli, Viquesney undoubtedly knew of Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, but humorously told people in Spencer that "TIVOLI" stood for "This Is Viquesney's Own Little Idea". After suffering two fires in the 1980s and 1990s, reopening, and then falling into disrepair, the Tivoli was finally closed in 1998. It was scheduled for demolition but was bought at the last moment and fully restored to its original 1928 grandeur. The grand reopening took place on April 11, 2013.
In January, 1923, Viquesney formed the Beaver Club of Spencer, which, by its constitution and by-laws, was to be Beaver Dam No. 1 chartered by the National Beaver Dam of the U.S.A. A photograph believed to have been taken at the club’s 1931 Christmas party and more information is included on our Viquesney Archive site. It isn’t known whether any other local Beaver clubs were formed. There is a report that Viquesney once bought a load of monkey skins to have a coat made for Cora, indicating he had a sense of humor. It’s hoped that Cora did, too. On October 2, 1933, Cora contracted what at first appeared to be a bad cold, but which doctors later diagnosed as diphtheria. It gradually closed her throat until her breathing stopped and she died early the following morning, Tuesday, October 3.
Viquesney then married Betty Sadler, an accomplished organist, in 1936. They had ten happy years together, and drove to Bloomington, Indiana almost nightly for two years during World War II so Betty could entertain servicemen at the United Service Organization (USO). Betty died in August 1946, and Viquesney told several Spencer friends he was about to break from the loss. While his writings indicate he had deep religious convictions, he became despondent over Betty’s death, his own failing health, and the fact that, except for his half-brother Bert, he was the only one left from his line. As a result, he took his own life by asphyxiation in his car in his garage October 4, 1946, one day after the thirteenth anniversary of Cora’s death. He left a note saying he just could not go on, plans for his funeral, his will, and a lengthy, self-written obituary. He concluded the obituary with "So closes the book, the story ends. Dick rests with those he loved…his father and mother, Cora, Dick and Betty all lie now with Dick’s beautiful statue, 'The Unveiling', looking down on their graves where they sleep..." Viquesney had no children, so there are no direct descendants.
