The Progress of Railroading

The Progress of Railroading
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″N 77°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 Greco-Roman deities and scientists related to rail transport in the United States.^[1]

Description

On the main facade of Union Station, six granite statues stand at 18 feet high, placed atop columns that decorate the 3 archways composing the building's main pavilion. The figures are paired to represent overarching concepts related to rail transportation; the western pair represents the major elemental forces that operate the railways, the eastern pair represents the industries most aided by rail transportation, and the central pair symbolizes the more abstract concepts that allowed the creation of rail travel.^[2] Moving from west to east, these six figures and what they represent are:

Prometheus – Fire^[a]
Thales – Electricity
Themis – Freedom
Apollo – Imagination
Ceres – Agriculture
Archimedes – Mechanics

Each of these statues correlates to a segment of the three inscriptions at the top of each archway, each concluding with an additional statement tying together each of the three pairs.^[1]

The western archway is inscribed:

FIRE – GREATEST OF DISCOVERIES

ENABLING MAN TO LIVE IN VARIOUS CLIMATES

USE MANY FOODS – AND COMPEL THE

FORCES OF NATURE TO DO HIS WORK

ELECTRICITY – CARRIER OF LIGHT AND POWER

DEVOURER OF TIME AND SPACE – BEARER

OF HUMAN SPEECH OVER LAND AND SEA

GREATEST SERVANT OF MAN – ITSELF UNKNOWN

THOU HAST PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET

The center is inscribed:

SWEETENER OF HUT AND OF HALL

BRINGER OF LIFE OUT OF NAUGHT

FREEDOM O FAIREST OF ALL

THE DAUGHTERS OF TIME AND THOUGHT

MAN'S IMAGINATION HAS CONCEIVED ALL

NUMBERS AND LETTERS – ALL TOOLS VESSELS

AND SHELTERS – EVERY ART AND TRADE – ALL

PHILOSOPHY AND POETRY – AND ALL POLITIES

THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE

The eastern archway is inscribed:

THE FARM – BEST HOME OF THE FAMILY – MAIN

SOURCE OF NATIONAL WEALTH – FOUNDATION OF

CIVILIZED SOCIETY – THE NATURAL PROVIDENCE

THE OLD MECHANIC ARTS – CONTROLLING NEW

FORCES – BUILD NEW HIGHWAYS FOR GOODS

AND MEN – OVERRIDE THE OCEAN – AND MAKE

THE VERY ETHER CARRY HUMAN THOUGHT

THE DESERT SHALL REJOICE AND BLOSSOM

AS THE ROSE

Extending on either side of the central pavilion are additional archways, each with two eagles at the top flanking additional inscriptions.^[1] The inscription above the westernmost archway is a quote from Samuel Johnson:

HE THAT WOULD BRING HOME THE

WEALTH OF THE INDIES MUST CARRY

THE WEALTH OF THE INDIES WITH HIM

SO IT IS IN TRAVELLING – A MAN

MUST CARRY KNOWLEDGE WITH HIM

IF HE WOULD BRING HOME KNOWLEDGE

Above the easternmost archway, the inscription is composed of two quotes: one from William Shakespeare and John Fletcher's play Henry VIII, and the other from James Russell Lowell:

LET ALL THE ENDS THOU AIMEST AT BE

THY COUNTRY'S – THY GOD'S – AND TRUTH'S

BE NOBLE AND THE NOBLENESS THAT

LIES IN OTHER MEN – SLEEPING BUT

NEVER DEAD – WILL RISE IN MAJESTY

TO MEET THINE OWN

An additional inscription can be found on the southeastern side of this archway, also composed of two quotes: one attributed to Homer, and the other to Ralph Waldo Emerson:

WELCOME THE COMING

SPEED THE PARTING GUEST

VIRTUE ALONE IS SWEET SOCIETY

IT KEEPS THE KEY TO ALL

HEROIC HEARTS AND OPENS YOU

A WELCOME IN THEM ALL

^ Possibly to provide balance between male and female figures, the traditionally male Prometheus is depicted as female.

Creation process

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]

Condition

The Progress of Railroading sculptures were surveyed in 1994 by the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program and was described as needing treatment.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Goode, John Washington Sculpture. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, p. 15.
^ https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdclccn.80458057/?sp=9&st=image
^ Smithsonian (1994). "The Progress of Railroading, (sculpture)". Save Outdoor Sculpture. Smithsonian. Retrieved 14 Feb 2011.

External links

[3] Possibly to provide balance between male and female figures, the traditionally male Prometheus is depicted as female.

[Goode-1] Goode, John Washington Sculpture. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, p. 15.

[2] ttps://www.loc.gov/resource/gdclccn.80458057/?sp=9&st=image

[SOS-4] Smithsonian (1994). "The Progress of Railroading, (sculpture)". Save Outdoor Sculpture. Smithsonian. Retrieved 14 Feb 2011.

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