Tom Needs a New Paint Job
Almost thirty years since Davidson wrote to J.C. Littlejohn that the statue’s material would be everlasting, the “beloved statue” was starting to deteriorate. On March 23, 1962, one of the editors for The Tiger wrote a small piece about a retiring faculty member named Gladys Mitchell. In the piece, Miss Mitchell reflected on her twenty-five years at Clemson. Although the editor noted she “remembers many things,” one memory includes seeing the statue of Thomas Clemson “being painted by a rival college one night.” As stated at the beginning of this project, the effigy’s cultural legacy most likely played a significant role in deteriorating the stone: constant coats of paint most likely contributed to the statue's dilapidated appearance.
"After 30 years, Tom final gets a new coat"
On August 26, 1966, thirty years since Davidson had made the stone effigy of Thomas Clemson, the university reached out to Davidson to make a bronze casting of its namesake. Although no financial documents or articles discuss the payment process, the university likely did not have to reach out to student organizations.
"The bronzing begins"
Unlike the first statue, the second statue did not receive much coverage: besides undated pictures taken by Davidson himself, The Tiger, nor did the university, celebrate embronzing of its namesake. Again, this is just one of the many historical gaps within this story.
"Midnight train to Georgia"
No longer residing near the Clemson area, the university had to ship the plaster casting to Davidson’s studio in Gainesville, Georgia. I suspect that the university paid for the statue's journey; however, there are no financial documents available to support this claim. This up-close photograph was taken by Davidson shortly after the plaster casting arrived at his studio.
"Smoothing down the edges"
After unboxing the plaster modeling, Davidson began to smooth the plaster cast. This picture shows Davidson using a file to rub down rough spots alongside the statue.
(1966) Bill Greenlee beside plaster cast of Thomas G. Clemson statue
This image shows Bill Greenlee, Thomas Clemson’s former servant, standing alongside Clemson's plaster casting (For more info on Greenlee, see Reel, The High Seminary, 42, 161).
Davidson with statue of Thomas G. Clemson, in progress (bronze)
This image shows Davidson inspecting the bronze casting. Unlike the stone statue, Davidson had to cast the bronze statue into pieces; once all the pieces had been bronzed, he had to weld them together.
"The finished statue"
Although there are not any photographs from Davidson of the finished bronze statue, this image, circa 1980, shows Davidson’s grandson alongside the bronze statue of Thomas Clemson. I am not sure why there are not any images surrounding the new unveiling of the statue. I would guess that the university did not want the general public to know the first statue's backstory.
