Background
Charles J. Mulligan was born on September 28, 1866, in Riverdale, County Tyrone, Ireland, in humble circumstances, and came to the United States at the age of seventeen.
Charles J. Mulligan was born on September 28, 1866, in Riverdale, County Tyrone, Ireland, in humble circumstances, and came to the United States at the age of seventeen.
A vigorous boy, with a passion for work, Mulligan found employment as a stone-cutter in Pullman, near Chicago, Illinois. Here Mulligan was discovered by the sculptor Lorado Taft, who was trying to forward artistic craftsmanship by means of a small vocational school in Pullman. Soon Taft received him as pupil-assistant in his own studio in Chicago and first called upon the apprentice to help in the carving of a marble bust.
The master noted that this young Irishman of twenty had not only a skilful hand and an active imagination, but also a radiant personality which kindled the enthusiasm of the students in the evening classes of the Art Institute of Chicago, where "Charley, " not content with hard work all day long, spent three evenings a week in modeling. Perhaps his greatest service to art was the inspiration he gave to others.
In addition to his Art Institute training, Mulligan had a brief period of study in Paris, under Alexandre Falguière.
In 1891 Mulligan was chosen by Taft to be the foreman of his Exposition workshop. Though cleverer artists than the new director were busy there, the manliness and tact of Mulligan minimized friction and brought about an atmosphere of harmony. His earliest attempts in creative work revealed his aspiration to become "the prophet of hopeful, cheerful labor. "
At the Buffalo Exposition, 1901, his statue "The Digger" attracted attention by its lively sincerity, while his four architectural figures of workingmen for the Illinois building stood forth as unusually good examples in this field.
Later, his "Miner and Child, " or "Home, " an interesting pyramidal group in marble, showed his advance in technical competence, and in the expression of profound feeling. It is now in Humboldt Park, Chicago.
Garfield Park, of the same city, has his statues of "Lincoln as Railsplitter, " and of John F. Finerty; his "President McKinley" is in McKinley Park. Mulligan never turned over his plaster models to be carved and finished in stone or marble by a practitioner, as is often the case. His ideal was to do his carving himself, and as he did not despise valuable mechanical aids, he had a pneumatic tool outfit in his studio.
After Taft's resignation as head of the department of sculpture at the Art Institute, Mulligan was chosen to this position, in which he remained until his death.
Among his many works in the West and South are "Justice and Power, " with "Law and Knowledge, " a pair of entrance groups for the State House, Springfield, Illinois; an impressive statue of Gen. George Rogers Clark, Quincy, Illinois; the soldiers' monument at Decatur, Indiana; and the Illinois monument, depicting Lincoln, the president, Grant, the warrior, and Yates, the governor, at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Charles J. Mulligan died on September 28, 1866, in St. Luke's Hospital, Chicago, from the effects of an operation.
Charles Mulligan was popular among his artist companions in Chicago and was instrumental in forming the nucleus of the artist colony, "Eagle's Nest, " later established in Oregon, Illinois. He was one of the founders of the Palette and Chisel Club; a member of the Society of Western Artists, Society of Chicago Artists, Beaux Arts Club, the Cliff Dwellers, and the Irish Fellowship Club.
In 1889, Charles J. Mulligan married Margaret Ely, of Chicago; they had three sons.