Sculptor Sherry E. Fry's' Remarkable Presentation of Unfolding Womanhood and His Personal Theories of the New * Need of Education in Love. By Nina Marbourg MERICAN art circles are discussing with A lively interest the completed "Five Ages of Woman," sculptured by Sherry E. Fry, and Mr Fry's theories of domestic education have occasioned scarcely less of comment. Mr. Fry rather startles American compla- , eency by asking, in effect, Are the women of Ang@rica many years behind the rest of the world in their understanding of love? Has the education of the women of this coun- try been such that sex consciousness has been lea aned to an extent dangerous to society? If so, is the state of marriage to be left hers to the foreign population, and are the American women. to continue to regard the serious gnestion » #8 vulgar, or, absorbed in professional pursuits, find no thme to give to love and marriage? Much is said and written on the matter. But for all that, the large number of unmarried wom- en in the United States is not being noticeably sut down. Some have figured out the matter rom a psychological point of view. Others lay it ¥o economics and the entrance of women in busi. ess. The late Theodore Roosevelt fought race suicide with all his might. And it would seem now that the time had come to fight against the ever increasing numbers of bachelors and single 5 women if there is to be a continuation of true American society. Studying the Eternal Feminine Sherry E. Fry, one of America's leading sculptors, has given a great deal of serions thought and study to this subject. Mr. Fry was' & captain in one of the camouflage divisions dur- ing the war, and having seen and studied women of other countries, he is only mote strengthened in his opinion that the American system of edu. sation on the great issues of life, among Ameri- ean women, is not only mid-Victorian but is sure. ly a menace to our future civilization. Mr. Fry is not only a sculptor but a student. His long study of art has led him to delve into the art of the ancients and also the histories of many countries. For the past six years he has been slowly working out a group of five figures . sarrying the life of woman from childhood to motherhood. For this he has given much study $0 the philosophers both ancient and modern, and -has produced a work that holds a message to the women and mothers of this time: . These five figures made by Mr. Fry speak out boldly, perhaps they hold a stronger appeal in. their beautiful modeling and lines than could be made to the women of the age through pages of writing. (This work is. an appeal to the women to remember their sex, be proud of it rather than a oa : It was in Mr. Fry's studio #t 21 Carmine street in New York's Latin quarter that' he talked on the subject of this work. The next to 'the last figure he is just completing. This was left unfinished when he went to war, and is now receiving the last touches. "The question," said Mr. Fry, "of the obliga. tions of men and women towayd one another and continuance of the race, and without this y Da nger of Repression : ol YE seems to me that the whole matter centres daughters of love, marriage, child birth--and if you do speak of these things do so in hushed, ashamed tones. Do not properly prepare them for the world. - Keep them ignorant of the great- est thing in the world--sex consciousness and love, "That is the method that is being pursued, and has been pursued for years and years in this country, and now, as®never before, the dangerous result of this training is being seen. "At one time women had to marry because they were not in a position to be economically in. dependent, But even at that time they were kept in a state of ridiculous ignorance until their mar- riage. Now that many are independent as fas as money is concerned, that old and deep training of repression is coming out strong, and in a year you cannot change a state of mind that has been bred for generations. The result is that the business woman is not marrying, her sex con- "Motherhood." "The Awakening." sciousness is being repressed, and to a greater extent than ever before, for she will tell you plainly that she 'has no time to think of love or romance,' and many, many women will tell you today that they have never been in love, and hope they never will be. The Effect on Society "That is one side of what the re- pression for generations has done to the society of today. But there is another side, that means that hun- . dreds of women are taking the other extreme, 'equally upsetting to soci- ety, and that is radicalism and free love. These twq factions in society, the 'conservatives' and the 'indi-. vidualists," are dominant at present, and it is only through education 3 - Sherry E. Fry, Sculptor. "It seeins to me that the whole matter centres around repression. Re- pression not only of desires but of thought and understanding. In this we have the most striking instance of the survival of the Puritanical strain in the Ameri. can mind. Hide, cover up, do not speak with your daughters of love, mar riage, childbirth--and if you do-speak of these'things do 30 in hushed, ashamed tones. Do not properly prepare them for the world. Keep them ignorant of the greatest thing in the world--sex consciousness and love." "The Offering of Love." that matters may be righted. "Do not think for a moment that I mean all restraint is to be thrown aside when I say lessen the repression. That is not it. I can think of no better example than thé women of foreign countries. ; "The girls of those countries have been edu. cated to know that in love and sex consciousness there is nothing wrong, nothing. 'bad.' They do not wear their hearts on their sleéves. They may outwardly restrain their emotions, but as surely As you are here, they have been taught that love is the greatest thing in the world, that it is the ultimate thing, and have been so prepared for its coming that they radiate a gentle, suppressed glow, the thing that means the great feminine . appeal. They are not on the defensive; they are not always on guard watching for situations that would prove uncomfortable, neither do they throw down the bars of convention, These wom- en have been 50 reared and educated ¢ at ih them one sees the finest of examples of rd regsion of the right sort, and this is the thing that must come to America. : "In the work that I have just completed 1 have given a great deal of thought and study. For this I early decided that it would be impossi- ble to use a model and obtain the desired result, Using a model destroyed the ideal I desired to follow the development of the woman from child. hood to motherhood: as it seems to me that it «should develop, One could not select & child and wait for this, and if he did begin to do 80, espe. cially in this day and age; the result might have been decidedly opposite to the one I have tried to attain. In fact such a thing would be impos. + and 1 have en. lectual dévelopment of the woman, - Beginning with the Child 3 beginning of life, and here at this first dawning of sex consciousness when the education of thi delicate creature should be most natural, here » this critical time the curtain is drawn closely over 'life' and the repression is doubled. Ideally this bud should gradually, naturally unfold unt{ we have the young woman ready and waiting for love. As the flower unfolds in the light, sf does the woman's nature unfold, and as the flowe coffers its petals to the sun, so does she offer her self to love. n "You may ses this in ng women if study them, and when emi hae been Fight when the right repression has been 'taught, they are wonderful in the sweet repose and waiting When such has not occurred there is a restless nervousness that many times drives away love: at this period in woman's development comes the turning point and at this taming point in the American woman the 'career' has stepped in te kill the longing for affection. S 3 "And now love has come. She draws about "her a veil of mystery, calm, content, marvelling - i the is confident of the the greatness of love. "This complete round of her life comes with -~