Sketch for Harmony
Cranbrook House and its gardens are ornamented by a number of works by Mario Korbel, from the life-size figure of Harmony set at the head of the reflecting pool on the west side of Cranbrook House to the smaller statuettes that George Gough Booth collected and displayed in its interior. This bronze statuette was modelled by Korbel as a study for "Harmony" in 1923, to refine his design and to allow Booth to see and approve the sculpture before it was resized for the final work. The small model was finished in early 1925 and cast in bronze by the Roman Bronze Works of New York City. It represents a female figure, partially draped, who holds a lyre in one arm. Her other arm is upraised, her head tilted back as though she is listening, perhaps to a chord she has just struck, to the thrumming of the strings as the wind plays upon them, like an Aeolian harp, or to the sound of the fountain which, in the statue’s final setting, plays at the base of her pedestal.
From 1923 onwards Korbel was deeply engaged in the design, not only of the statue itself, but also of the surrounding garden and the staircases that form a backdrop to his figure. He corresponded frequently with Booth about the western terrace, at one point staying up all night making sketches, then sending him a telegram at four o’clock in the morning to share his latest ideas. In Korbel’s original vision of the terrace’s layout, Harmony would have formed the central figure of a group of allegorical personifications of the arts, including Architecture, Poetry, and Sculpture. The limitations of the available space at the head of the garden and Korbel’s occupation with other commissions complicated and delayed the execution of the sculptural program, until the onset of the Great Depression compelled its abandonment. This bronze model survives as a testament to the original plan, and to the years-long working relationship between Booth and Korbel, through which patronage matured into friendship.
Mariam Hale
2023-2025 Collections Fellow
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
January 2024
Width (at base): 4 1/8 in (10.4 cm)
Depth (at base): 5 9/16 in (14.1 cm)
Height of sculpture: 9 5/8 in (24.4 cm)
Width of sculpture: 3 1/4 in (8.3 cm)
Depth of sculpture: 6 in (15.2 cm)
ProvenanceGeorge Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth (1923-1927)
Cranbrook Foundation (1927-1973)
Cranbrook Educational Community (1973-present)
Credit LineCranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Cultural Properties Collection, Founders Collection
Bequest of George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth through the Cranbrook Foundation
Medium | MaterialsBronze
SignedSigned: Mario Korbel / copyright mark / No. 2.
GenreObject TypeStatues; Sketches
Select Bibliography and Archival Citation(s)Appraisal by Stalker & Boos (1975). Series II: Appraisals and Inventories. George Gough and Ellen Warren Scripps Booth Financial Records (1981-02). Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, Bloomfield Hills, MI.
Series IV: House and Property, Box 17, folders 5-7. George Gough and Ellen Warren Scripps Booth Financial Records (1981-02). Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, Bloomfield Hills, MI.
