User:Emmac514/Progress of Civilization Pediment

The Progress of Civilization is a marble pediment above the entrance to the Senate wing of the United States Capitol building designed by the sculptor Thomas Crawford. An allegorical personification of America stands at the center of the pediment. To her right, a white woodsman clears the wilderness inhabited by a Native American boy, father, mother, and child. The left side of the pediment depicts a soldier, a merchant, two schoolchildren, a teacher with her pupil, and a mechanic.

When it was originally completed, the pediment received positive reactions from art journals at the times. However, it has recently been the subject of scrutiny for art historians such as Vivien Green Fryd. Art historians Kirsten Pai Buick and Klaus Lubbers have also commented on The Progress of Civilization.

The US Capital Building recently under went a restoration program in 2016 which led to new discoveries about the pediment.

History/Context

In 1850, Congress legislated the expansion of the Capitol building. Before design and construction began, there were several administrative changes which made it unclear who was in charge of the project. In 1851, President Filmore reinstate the position of the Architect of the Capitol and named Thomas U. Walker for the position. However, in 1853, administrative responsibilities were taken over by the Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis. Davis advocated for occupation of Oregon, acquisition of California, and the Mexican War. Davis then selected Montgomery Meigs as the supervisor of the project. From this point, Meigs was mostly in control of the project. He would make decisions and then forward them to Davis and the president for approval. Although he was in control, Meigs had to carefully navigate public opinion particularly in regards to the opposition towards foreign artists. Meigs reached out to Edward Everett who recommended Hiram Powers and Thomas Crawford. Powers refused the offers because of previous disagreements with the government, so Crawford became the premier sculptor for the Capitol extension. In his letters to both Crawford and Powers, Meigs began to shape his vision for the pediment. He envisioned a building that "rivaled the Parthenon." He also already had the theme of racial conflict already in mind. He recognized that the conflict with Native Americans was ongoing, well known issue at the time and wanted the pediment to reflect that.

Figures

According to Kirsten Pai Buick, a misguided way of viewing this pediment is viewing it in the way that we read, from left to right. She claims that the narrative of this pediment is anti-linear and should be viewed as two halves. The left is the side of the damned (the Native Americans) and the right is the side of the saved (White Americans).

Central figure of America with eagle and sun

America

The central figure is a personification of America. She stands in contrapposto and is clothed in classical drapery. The flipped over Phrygian cap and shawl that she wears are decorated in stars. The former is a representation of Liberty. Her right arm holds a laurel and oak wreath which represent civic and military merit while her left hand is outstretched in an appeal to heaven. Her head is also tilted heavenwards. An eagle is to her left and the sun rises at her feet.

Backwoodsman

Backwoodsman

To the left of America is a portrayal of a backwoodsman. He holds an ax and cuts down a tree. At this time, the tree stum, ax, and woodcutter were recognized as symbols of the progress of civilization. This symbolism is also present in Andrew Melrose's Westward the Star of Empire Takes Its Way- Near Council Bluffs Iowa and George Inness's Lackawanna Valley.

Indian Boy

Indian Boy

The next figure, the Indian boy, can be contrasted with the backwoodsman. It is evident that the boy has just returned from hunting because he has his game hanging over his right soldier. At this time, hunting was looked down upon by white Americans. This was part of the argument that resulted in unjust treatment of Native Americans. The Indian boy is the embodiment of what white Americans found primitive about the Natives. Further, the Indian boy can be juxtaposed with the two schoolboys on the right side of the pediment. Art historian Vivien Green Fryd articulates this well in saying that the two schoolboys occupy a the mirrored position of the Indian boy on the right side which, "suggests the uneducated, uncultured, and wild native is symbolically replaced by educated, cultured, and civilized whites."

Father/ Indian Chief

Father/Indian Chief

The rest of the Indian boy's family is to his left, beginning with his father, the Indian chief. The father rests on a rock in a position of melancholy. He wears a feathered headdress and a cloth that covers only his groin. His clench left fist and bent right leg are in contrast to his relaxed right side. His ax rests across the rock and is covered by animal skin. This covering is "a sign of the Indian's inability to employ force." In Crawford's words, the Indian chief is meant to "embody all the despair and profound grief resulting from the conviction of the white man's triumph'."

Indian Mother and Child

Soldier

Indian Mother and Child

The final figures on the left side of the pediment are the Indian mother and child reclining next to a grave. These figures follow the mood of melancholy and despair of the Indian chief. An art journal from the time of production describes the figures with the following statement: "The mother, with prophetic fear, grasps her infant to her bosom, she reclines her cheek on its tiny face as though, in her great love, she would shroud it from the inevitable fate awaiting its race, its name, its very land; a fate sadly imaged forth by a heaped-up grave before her."

Soldier

The first figure to the right of America is the soldier. He is a reference to the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the ongoing war against Native American tribes. This symbolism is in line with the rhetoric of President Buchanan and Senator Davis who were prominent proponents of the Mexican War and the war against the tribes.

Merchant

Merchant

Next to the soldier is the merchant. He is seated and surrounded by symbols of commerce. His hand rests on a globe to reference the extensive American trade going on at this time.

Two School Boys and Schoolteacher and Child

Following the merchant is a group of schoolchildren and their teacher. Two of the school boys "venture forth to serve the country" (****find source) while the schoolteacher instructs the third child. The schoolboys can be contrasted with the Indian boy. They are meant to be his opposite with their educational status and their clothing.

Mechanic

Two School Boys

The mechanic is the final figure on the right side of the pediment. He is meant to symbolize industrial and agricultural accomplishments which are the means of progress for America. His reclining position and the sheaf of wheat to his left juxtaposes him with the Indian mother and child and the grave to their right. Fryd the final figures and the objects next to them represent, "civilization's future and the Indian's necessary destruction."

Schoolteacher and Child

Mechanic

Reception

Original Public Reactions

Upon completion, the pediment received praise from critics. A journal at the time called The Crayon complimented Crawford and his treatment of the pediment's subjects. Progress of Civilization is feature in volumes from 1855 and 1857. The earlier volume provides an excerpt from the London Art Journal which states, "One can fancy the proud delight with which the arrival of this work will be welcomed in America." The volume from 1857 specifically praises Crawford's portrayal of the Indian Chief figure. Art historian Vivien Green Fryd states that Montgomery Meigs's proposal "indicate that his attitudes toward the native population resembled those of many of his contemporaries." These art journals further cement this claim.

Calls for Removal/ Similar Controversies

The art historian Vivien Green Fryd argues that the pediment sends the message that "Native Americans must be removed and extirpated, if necessary, for the continued progress of the United States." Other sculptures with similar implications, such as Horatio Greenough's The Rescue, were removed from the U.S. Capitol in the twentieth century because of their depiction of the white displacement of indigenous Americans. Crawford's pediment has not been subject to the same calls for removal.

Analysis and Interpretations

Kirsten Pai Buick

In her essay "Narrative Structure as Secular Judgement in Thomas Crawford's Progress of Civilization," Kirsten Pai Buick argues for the importance of analyzing the pediment in the context that it physically exists. She says that there is an issue of taking the pediment program out of its context of being on the Senate building. Further, she says that traditional art history has impeded analysis of the pediment because the Senate is viewed as the 'patron' and Crawford as the 'artist.' Assigning the Senate this role removes it from its political function in funding the pediment. Throughout her essay, Buick argues to "reconnect it [the Senate] as a governing body to the meaning of the sculpture relative to the Senate's power to advise and consent in treaty making with Native Americans."

Klaus Lubbers

Klaus Lubbers' analysis of Indian Peace Medals is relevant to Crawford's pediment. Indian Peace Medals were gifts presented to chiefs during events such as treaty signings to “promote peace and friendship between Indians and their white neighbors.” Symmetry was a typical characteristic of the medals and were meant to symbolize balance between Native Americans and their white counterparts. However, the white figures in these medals eventually were portrayed as crossing over the center and pushing Native Americans towards the edge which Lubbers says was symbolic of eliminating Native Americans. In his essay, Lubbers also mentions Crawford's pediment. He suggests that Crawford used symmetry on the pediment to be an element of "stabilization and justification". However, because the figures on either side are not portrayed equally, the symmetry has the effect of pretending the conflict with the Native Americans was not a great tragedy.

Recent Developments

In 2016, US Capitol Building under went a stone restoration project. This allowed for a closer look at the pediment and extensive photo documentation which had been previously limited by the height of the pediment. The three-dimensionality of the sculpture was a surprising discovery. Through closer observation, it was revealed that the sides and backs of the sculptures were detailed despite not being visible from the ground.

The other discoveries have to do with the Merchant figure. They discovered that the Merchant is actually a portrait of James Guthrie who was the Secretary of the Treasury under President Pierce in 1854. Additionally, the figure's index figure on the hand resting on a globe points at Europe which references the Treaty of Kanagawa. Finally, an inscription was found below the figure's right foot. It says "$28,000,000." This inscription was initially a mystery, but they discovered that it refers to the Treasury surplus in 1853.

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