Edward Berge
Wildflower, 1916
Bronze
Wildflower was acquired in 1916 by Professor and Mrs. Moses S. Slaughter at a Madison Art Association sculpture show. The sculptor, Edward Berge, had studied in Baltimore and eventually in the studio of the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin.
In 1917, the Slaughters wrote to the library asking permission to donate the piece in memory of their young daughters, Gertrude and Elizabeth. Madison architect Frank Riley helped plan a pool and garden setting for Wildflower on the Dayton Street lawn outside the original 1906 Carnegie-funded Madison Free Library.
In 1963, the library began planning its move to what would be the current location on Mifflin and Fairchild Streets. The Friends of the Library received a donation from Robert Taylor of Princeton, New Jersey, the nephew of Mrs. Slaughter. This donation provided the funds to move the sculpture to its new home on the second floor of the new Central Library.
Wildflower remained in its indoor garden location until 2011, when the Central Library closed for remodeling. In 2015, Wildflower was relocated to the children’s room of the new Central Library. Wildflower’s engaging presence has delighted generations of library visitors for a century.
"The face expresses eagerness and joy in a measure which, without seeing it one would scarcely believe possible in bronze or wood. The figure is truly alive. The beauty of its chaste simplicity will inevitably grow on one, and it is easy to predict that if Madison should become a center of art at some time, nothing that may grace our streets or public buildings will make a more direct appeal to the hearts of young and old alike than Wildflower.” - Madison Democrat, 1917
More information:
Edward Berge, Wikipedia, accessed 1/21/15
Sculptor Edward Berge, Monument.net, accessed 1/21/15
Photos:
Top right: Wildflower in the outdoor garden at the Carnegie Building, circa 1962. Photo credit unkown.
Bottom left: Wildflower in the second floor courtyard of the Central Library, 2005. Photo credit Tana Elias.