Colonel James Anderson Monument, (sculpture).

Colonel James Anderson Monument, (sculpture).

French, Daniel Chester, 1850-1931, sculptor.

Bacon, Henry, 1866-1924, architect.

Caterson, Robert, contractor.

Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company, founder.

Colonel James Anderson Monument, (sculpture).

Bust of Colonel James Anderson, (sculpture).

Colonel James Anderson Monument: Bust of Colonel James Anderson, (sculpture).

Colonel James Anderson Monument: Labor, (sculpture).

Labor, (sculpture).

Labor, (sculpture).

Modeled 1903. Cast 1904. Dedicated June 15, 1904. Relocated ca. 1960s.

Digital Reference:

Bust of Anderson and figure of Labor: bronze; Each base: granite; Exedra: granite.

Bust of Anderson: approx. 41 in. x 2 ft. 6 in. x 2 ft.; Bust's base: approx. 10 ft. x 7 ft. x 2 ft. 6 in.; Figure of Labor: approx. 5 ft. 2 in. x 3 ft x 3 ft; Labor's base: approx. 3 ft x 3 ft 1 in x 3 ft 2 in.

(Bust of Anderson:) D. C. FRENCH SC (Proper right side of Labor:) DANIEL C. FRENCH SC. 1903 (Proper left side of Labor:) THE HENRY BONNARD BRONZE CO FOUNDERS NY 1904 (Plaque, front of Labor's base:) TO COLONEL JAMES ANDERSON, FOUNDER OF FREE LIBRARIES IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. HE OPENED HIS LIBRARY TO THE WORKING BOYS AND ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON ACTED AS LIBRARIAN, THUS DEDICATING NOT ONLY HIS BOOKS, BUT HIMSELF, TO THE NOBLE WORK. THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE BY ANDREW CARNEGIE, ONE OF THE "WORKING BOYS" TO WHOM WERE THUS OPENED THE PRECIOUS TREASURES OF KNOWLEDGE AND IMAGINATION THROUGH WHICH YOUTH MAY ASCEND. signed Founder's mark appears.

The figure of Labor is a working man reading a book. He is seated on an anvil, over which drapery is spread. The figure is shirtless, but wears pants, shoes, and a hat. His head is bent over a book which lies open across his knees. His proper right hand holds the book, while his proper left hand rests on the anvil next to a hammer. The figure of Labor rests on a square granite base and just above him on a separate base is a bust of Colonel James Anderson. The benches of the exedra curve outward with the base of each sculpture forming the center of the monument.

Portrait male -- Anderson, James -- Bust

Occupation -- Military -- Colonel

Occupation -- Industry -- Milling

Figure male -- Full length

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Industry

Recreation -- Leisure -- Reading

Object -- Written Matter -- Book

Object -- Tool -- Hammer

Object -- Tool -- Anvil

Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Administered by City of Pittsburgh, Citiparks, Department of Public Works, 611 Second Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222

Located Allegheny Square, Between Buhl Planetarium and Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Formerly located Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania late 1960s.

Formerly located Carnegie Institute, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania late 1960s.

Allegheny Free Library, Federal & Ohio Streets, Allegheny City, Pennsylvania 1904-mid 1960s.

Andrew Carnegie donated this work as a memorial to Colonel James Anderson, Pittsburgh's pioneer iron manufacturer. Although the original monument, once located at the Allegheny Free Library, no longer exists, through reconstruction it looks today much as it did when it was first installed in 1904. Its main architectural feature was a large, gracefully curved, Connecticut red granite exedra raised, in the classical manner, on three steps. From the center of the exedra rose a wide stele-shaped pier atop which rested the bronze bust of Colonel Anderson; the statue of Labor was seated on a shorter pedestal directly beneath.

Under the urban redevelopment program of the mid-1960s, the original monument's exedra was demolished and the sculptures were put into storage. Several years later, the bust of Anderson was displayed inside the Carnegie Library and the figure of Labor was installed at the Carnegie Music Hall. Subsequently, Labor and the bust of Anderson have been reunited in the current site complete with a reconstructed exedra. The Evert publication includes photographs of the monument in its original site and photographs of Labor and the bust of Anderson in their temporary installations.

IAS files contain a related article from the Pittsburgh Post, June 16, 1904, which describes the dedication ceremony and accompanying parade and other festivities in great detail. For related information see: Gay, Vernon, "Monumental Neglect," In Pittsburgh (November 22-28, 1989): pg. 8, 42. (A copy of this article can be found in the sculpture files at the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.)

Evert, Marilyn, "Discovering Pittsburgh's Sculpture," Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983, pg. 4-6.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, PA0138, 1989.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, PA0268, 1989.

Monumental News, Jan. 1905, pg. 36.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania survey, 1995.

Evert, Marilyn, "Discovering Pittsburgh's Sculpture," Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983, pg. 36-37.

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.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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