On Oct. 14, 1921, the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëùµ¼º½ÍøÖ· ran this article about the 'statue of grief' that Herman C.G. Luyties wanted placed at his grave in Bellefontaine Cemetery. The headline was "Statue of grief for grave in predicament," and the subheadline was "Lack of funds for pedestal prevents removal of Luyties' mortgaged marble figure."
Covered by filmy draperies and a mortgage, a colossal marble figure of a woman, typifying grief, stands in the home of the late Herman C.J. Luyties, manufacturer of toilet preparations, 36 Portland Place, awaiting the financially propitious time when it may be placed as a monument on the grave of Luyties in Bellefontaine Cemetery.
In his will Luyties made a provision that $20,000 should be expended on a pedestal and architectural setting for the statue. One drawback to the carrying out of this plan is that the necessary $20,000 has not been found in the Luyties estate, whose chief asset is believed to be life insurance, largely incumbered.
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Statue Made to Order.
Luyties had the marble statue, 8 feet high and weighing several tons, made to order by Federico Bringiotti, a sculptor in Genoa, Italy. The cost of the statue was $2600 and the cost of its transportation from Genoa to St. ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëùµ¼º½ÍøÖ· was about $1700. The commission was given to the artist in April 1916. It was stipulated that the statue should be carved from a block of flawless marble and that the work be completed in 18 months. It was modeled after a statue by the great Italian sculptor, Monteverde, in the Genoa cemetery.
It was agreed that the artist should receive $100 a month for his work, making a total of $18OO and that an additional $800 should be paid upon the delivery of the statue in St. ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëùµ¼º½ÍøÖ·.
H.C. Werbe, executor of the Luyties estate, yesterday said the artist received all of the stipulated pay for his work, but Luyties put in a claim against an express company for alleged excessive charges in connection with the handling and repacking of the statue, and this claim Is still unsettled.
Foundation reinforced.
Luyties made elaborate preparations tor the reception of the marble figure. He had reinforcements put into the foundation of that part of the hous where the statue was to be stored. It was necessary to remove the outer and inner doors at the front entrance to the Luyties home. At that it was a tight squeeze land for a time the removal of part of the front wall was seriously considered.
The Luyties home was under a $25,000 mortgage when the statue went into it. This incumbrance re-mains. Ten days before he died he mortgaged his household effects to the Easton-Taylor Trust Co. for $12,000 and from another source he borrowed $1500 on his automobile.
The marble figure was one or the household effects covered bv the chattel mortgage. Officers of the Easton-Taylor Trust Co. frankly say that in the event of a foreclosure they wouldn't know what to do with it. The bank lobby would have to be enlarged to give it an adequate setting and even then there would be little room left for customers.
The life insurance money would not be available for use in carrying out Luyties' plan to have the statue put on his grave. Of this money, Herman C. G. Luyties Jr., only child Luyties' one marriage, receives 25,000 and Mrs. C. Luyties of Morrison, Colorado, who divorced Luyties in 1912, receives $50,000. The remainder of the insurance is said to be pledged to secure the claims of several persons who advanced money for Luyties' business enterprises.Â
Luyties died at St. Luke's Hospital on Sept. 17, 1921, at 50 after an operation. His father established a homeopathic pharmacy company, and he founded Sanitol Chemical Laboratory Co. His estate was not as large as some assumed, and much of the company's stock in Luyties control was dedicated to various business debts, according to a November newspaper article. After his death, the existence of a second son, George Hope Luyties, was publicly revealed.Â
In January 1922, a newspaper article said that the sale of Sanitol would provide funds for the statue to be placed at the grave (and for Luyties to be buried in the plot). William R. Warner & Co., a St. ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëùµ¼º½ÍøÖ· company that also made chemical products "and toilet preparations" bought Sanitol.