Administered by United States Capitol Architect of the Capitol Washington District of Columbia
Located Library of Congress 10 1st Street, S.E Main Building, front entrance Washington District of Columbia 20540
Date:
1895-1898
Notes:
Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985
Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 72-73.
Small, Herbert, "The Library of Congress: its architecture and decoration," New York: Norton, 1982, pg. 44-45.
Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1994.
Smart, Mary, "A Flight with Fame: the life and art of Frederick MacMonnies, with a Catalogue Raisonne of Sculpture and a Checklist of Paintings by E. Adina Gordon," Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1996, pg. 295.
Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 1.25.
Image on file.
Small, Herbert, "The Library of Congress: its architecture and decoration," New York: Norton, 1982, pl. 3.
(On south leaf, left, below figure:) F. MacMonnies (Tympanum, in field left, above shoulder of Minerva:) ARS TYPOGRAPHICA (North leaf, lowest panel, on shield:) HUMA-/-NITAS (South leaf, lowest panel, on shield:) INTELL/ECTVS (Lunette facing main entrance hall, on shield:) HOMAGE/TO/GUTENBERG signed Founder's mark appears.
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Summary:
One of three sets of double doors topped with a tympanum installed at the front entrance to the library. The significance of printing is represented in the reliefs that appear in the tympanum and on the middle set of double doors located at the front entrance. Both doors feature draped full-length female figures. One figure represents Intellect and the other represents the Humanities. The tympanum features Minerva with various products of the typographical arts, such as an inking ball, a printers stick, and a printing press. Also included in thet relief are the winged horse, Pegasus, representing Poetic Inspiration; a stork representing Filial Piety; and an hourglass.
