The Progress of Railroading | |
---|---|
Artist | Louis Saint-Gaudens |
Year | 1908 |
Type | Granite |
Dimensions | 18 ft (5.5 m) each for 6 figures |
Location | Washington, D.C., United States |
38°53′49.3″N77°0′23.17″W / 38.897028°N 77.0064361°W | |
Owner | Union Station |
The Progress of Railroading is group of public artworks by American artist Louis Saint-Gaudens. This series of six sculptures were cut by Andrew E. Bernasconi, a high-grade Italian stone workman, between 1909 and 1911. These statues are located at Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States. The sculptures represent deities and Ancient Greek thinkers related to rail transport in the United States. [1]
Six figures which stand at 18 feet high are on the main facade of the Union Station building. These granite sculptures are placed above three connected triumphal arches that make up the main entrance of the building. The six figures represent and mean:
The east and west figures are meant to deal with the operational system behind railroads and the center figures represent creativity. [1]
The west section is inscribed:
The center is inscribed:
The east side is inscribed:
Two eagles also flank the left and right side of the arches. [1]
When the Station was being constructed debate erupted regarding "who" the figures would be or represent. Historical American figures were considered, however, they did not fit into the Baroque architecture of the building, therefore allegorical figures were chosen. Many people were consulted regarding what figures to have St. Gaudens sculpt including Charles W. Eliot, the former president of Harvard University. [1]
The Progress of Railroading sculptures were surveyed in 1994 by the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program and was described as needing treatment. [2]
Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North America's 10th-busiest railroad station. The station is the southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor, an electrified rail line extending north through major cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, and the busiest passenger rail line in the nation. In 2015, it served just under five million passengers.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From an Irish-French family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City. He traveled to Europe for further training and artistic study. After he returned to New York, he achieved major critical success for his monuments commemorating heroes of the American Civil War, many of which still stand. Saint-Gaudens created works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common, Abraham Lincoln: The Man, and grand equestrian monuments to Civil War generals: General John Logan Memorial in Chicago's Grant Park and William Tecumseh Sherman at the corner of New York's Central Park. In addition, he created the popular historicist representation of The Puritan.
Adolph Alexander Weinman was a German-born American sculptor and architectural sculptor.
James Earle Fraser was an American sculptor during the first half of the 20th century. His work is integral to many of Washington, D.C.'s most iconic structures.
The Albert Einstein Memorial is a monumental bronze statue by sculptor Robert Berks, depicting Albert Einstein seated with manuscript papers in hand. It is located in central Washington, D.C., United States, in a grove of trees at the southwest corner of the grounds of the National Academy of Sciences at 2101 Constitution Avenue N.W., near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Two replicas exist at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Leo Friedlander was an American sculptor, who has made several prominent works. Friedlander studied at the Art Students League in New York City, the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Brussels and Paris, and the American Academy in Rome. He was an assistant to the sculptor Paul Manship and taught at the American Academy in Rome and at New York University, where he headed the sculpture department. He was also president of the National Sculpture Society. In 1936, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1949.
The Adams Memorial is a grave marker for Marian Hooper Adams and Henry Adams located in Section E of Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C. The memorial features a cast bronze allegorical sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Saint-Gaudens' shrouded-figure statue is seated against a granite block which takes up one side of a hexagonal plaza, designed by architect Stanford White. Across from the statue is a stone bench for visitors. The whole is sheltered by a close screen of dense conifers.
Columbus Fountain also known as the Columbus Memorial is a public artwork by American sculptor Lorado Taft, located at Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States. A centerpiece of Columbus Circle, Columbus Fountain serves as a tribute to the explorer Christopher Columbus. The unveiling in 1912 was celebrated all over Washington, DC over the course of three days with parades, concerts and fireworks gathering tens of thousands of people from all over the world.
An equestrian statue of Venezuelan military and political leader Simón Bolívar by the American artist Felix de Weldon is located in Washington, D.C., at Virginia Avenue NW, 18th Street NW, and C Street NW, near the United States Department of Interior and the Pan American Union Building of the Organization of American States. It was surveyed as part of the Smithsonian Institution's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1993.
The Westward Journey, also listed as Indians, Reaper, Blacksmith, Pioneer Family, is a set of outdoor sculptures made by Herman Carl Mueller in 1886–1887, located above the south portico of the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana.
The Servant Christ is a public artwork by American artist Jimilu Mason, located at Christ House, 1717 Columbia Road, NW in Washington, D.C., United States. The Servant Christ was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1994.
The Boy Scout Commemorative Tribute is a public artwork by American sculptor Donald De Lue, located on The Ellipse within The White House and President's Park in Washington, D.C., United States. The monument and fountain are maintained by the National Park Service. Sometimes referred to as the Boy Scout Memorial or Boy Scout Fountain, the Boy Scout Commemorative Tribute serves as a monument to the Boy Scouts of America.
Major General George B. McClellan is an equestrian statue in Washington, D.C. that honors politician and Civil War general George B. McClellan. The monument is sited on a prominent location in the Kalorama Triangle neighborhood due to efforts made by area residents. The statue was sculpted by American artist Frederick William MacMonnies, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts whose best known work is a statue of Nathan Hale in New York City. MacMonnies was chosen to design the statue following a lengthy competition organized by a statue commission, led by then Secretary of War William Howard Taft. The monument was dedicated in 1907, with prominent attendees at the ceremony including President Theodore Roosevelt, New York City mayor George B. McClellan Jr., politicians, generals and thousands of military personnel.
Brevet Lt. General Winfield Scott is an equestrian statue in Washington, D.C., that honors career military officer Winfield Scott. The monument stands in the center of Scott Circle, a traffic circle and small park at the convergence of 16th Street, Massachusetts Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue NW. The statue was sculpted by Henry Kirke Brown, whose best-known works include statues of George Washington in New York and Nathanael Greene in Washington, D.C. It was the first of many sculptures honoring Civil War generals that were installed in Washington, D.C.'s traffic circles and squares and was the second statue in the city to honor Scott.
Jerome Connor was an Irish sculptor.
Louis Saint-Gaudens was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation. He was the brother of renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens; Louis later changed the spelling of his name to St. Gaudens to differentiate himself from his well-known brother.
Queen Isabella, also known as Queen Isabella (1451–1504), is an outdoor sculpture of Isabella I of Castile, installed outside the Pan American Union Building of the Organization of American States at 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States.