George W. Welsh Civic Auditorium 227 Lyon Street, N.W Grand Rapids Michigan
Date:
1932. Dedicated Jan. 2, 1933
Notes:
Hendry, Fay L., "Outdoor Sculpture in Grand Rapids," Okemos, Michigan: iota Press, 1980, pg. 30.
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Michigan survey, 1993.
Image on file.
Hendry, Fay L., "Outdoor Sculpture in Grand Rapids," Okemos, Michigan: iota Press, 1980, pg. 30.
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:
The facade of the Civic Auditorium is adorned with rectangular reliefs containing allegorical figures of: Sports, Industry, Electricity, Sculpture, Textiles, Printing, Drama, Fine Arts, Music, Philosophy, Commerce, and Science.
On the front of the building --the Music relief features three figures holding a trumpet, a harp, and sheet music; and the Fine Arts relief features three figures holding a sculpture, paint brushes, and calipers. On the west side of the building --the Printing relief features a figure working a printing press; the Textiles relief features a figure working a large loom; the Sculpture relief features a figure holding a chisel and mallet; the Electricity relief features a figure with a turbine in one hand and lightning bolts in the other; and the Industry relief features a figure with an anvil and mechanical gears.
On the east side of the building --the Sports relief features a figure holding a discus; the Drama relief features a figure holding a script; and the Philosophy relief depicts two robed figures.
