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'For a student of history and America, Dungeness has a lot to say about human achievement and life to everyone, and is not just a story about Andrew Carnegie and what he achieved.'
'Carnegie sold his steel business and systematically gave his collected fortune away to cultural, educational and scientific institutions for "the improvement of mankind."'
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About Dungeness & Andrew Carnegie
 imply put, the Dungeness was a home of Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest men in the world of his time. He lived there during the winter. The home is located on Cumberland Island, Georgia - United States. The spirit of Dungeness even in ruin is still vibrant; not only because of the imposing physical structure of the building itself, but also because it still retains a vestige of the aura of the man who built it.
This story explains how Thomas Carnegie, brother and partner of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, began building, with his wife Lucy, on Dungeness' foundations in 1884. The ruins of the mansion remain here today. Plum Orchard, a Georgian Revival-style mansion built for son, Georgia, and his wife, Margaret Thaw, was donated to the National Park Foundation by Carnegie family members in 1971. Their contribution, as well as funds from supporting foundations, helped win Congressional approval for establishing Cumberland Island National Seashore. Now 80 percent of the Island is owned and managed by the National Park Service. There are still a few small, private tracts on the island.
My personal inspiration for executing this painting of the Dungeness ruin was born out of a personal visit to the mansion. Being there surrounded by the ruins, the wildlife, the secluded island atmosphere in combination with imaging what life must have been like here over a century ago when the mansion was in its heyday was a heady experience for me. This home and the people who built it and lived here played an important part in the growth of the United States and for someone who has come so far from his home to come to this country and who one day wishes to become an America citizen and have a better life it could not help but be inspiring.
For a student of history and America, Dungeness has a lot to say about human achievement and life to everyone, and is not just a story about Andrew Carnegie and what he achieved. I feel very fortunate to have been able to see for myself a bit of the lifestyle this Scottish immigrant who has become an historic symbol of what a man with dream can accomplish seemingly against all odds. I can not thank my friend, Tommy Lord, enough. He introduced me to Dungeness; it was a great gift! Driving all the way to the Cumberland Island from Marietta is its own reward. I have traveled a long way from Sumatra to America on the power a dream, and it is my belief and personal experience that America, as it has been and as it is still today—even more so—is the best place for a dreamer who wants to be all he can be.
Andrew Carnegie
Themes: the American Dream, labor, industrialization, philanthropy.
born: 25 November 1835
died: 11 August 1919
Faced with sudden poverty in Scotland, Andrew Carnegie's family emigrated to America. Determined to escape poverty, Carnegie went on to become the richest man in the world. After amassing a fortune, Carnegie systematically gave away millions.
According to Britannica Encyclopedia, Carnegie, who, at the age of 33, when he had an annual income of $50,000, said, “Beyond this never earn, make no effort to increase fortune, but spend the surplus each year for benevolent purposes.”.
Andrew Carnegie is one of the captains of industry of 19th century America, he helped build the formidable American steel industry, a process that turned a poor young man into one of the richest entrepreneurs of his age. Later in his life, Carnegie sold his steel business and systematically gave his collected fortune away to cultural, educational and scientific institutions for "the improvement of mankind."
Although Andrew Carnegie made millions of dollars in the steel industry, he is best known for the legacy of donations he made to various charitable causes. Carnegie donated nearly $350 million to education, research, and art institutions. In fact, some sources state that by the time he died in 1919, he had given away $350,695,653. At his death, the last $30,000,000, was likewise given away to foundations, charities and to pensioners.
Carnegie founded the Carnegie Technical Schools—now called Carnegie-Mellon University—in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1900 to make a contribution to both research and education. For the arts, he built Carnegie Hall, a grand concert hall, in New York City. Carnegie also founded a number of libraries throughout the United States.
Erik Ciel, an artist representative, based in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, also contributes to this report. |
