Riches of the Earth: The Duties of Life, (sculpture).

Riches of the Earth: The Duties of Life, (sculpture).

Calder, Alexander Stirling, 1870-1945, sculptor.

Donovan, John J., 1875-1949, architect.

Hornbostel, Henry, architect.

Mathews, Walter J., d. 1947, architect.

Couchot, Maurice C., d. 1933, engineer.

N. Clark & Sons, contractor.

Riches of the Earth: The Duties of Life, (sculpture).

Duties of Life, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

White glazed terra cotta.

Approx. 60 x 25 x 18 ft.

(On panel on proper right:) THE/WORD (On center panel:) THE DVTIES/OF LIFE (On panel on proper left:) THE/TASK

Three large-scale glazed terra cotta relief panels set in a niche on the side of a building. At the top of the left panel is the figure of a boy reading. He is shown in profile sitting on a stool, his feet on a platform. He holds a book in his lap and is bent over it, his proper left arm supporting his head. Below the boy at the bottom of the panel, a woman is seated and faces forward. At her proper left side is a small nude boy, leaning against her legs. She holds an open book on her proper right knee and wears a long flowing gown.

The center panel depicts three figures. On the left is a small child in profile, holding a basket and walking forward. In the center is a full-length male figure dressed in trousers and a broad-brimmed hat. He holds a pitchfork in his proper right hand and accepts the basket from the child with his proper left hand. In front of him, and to the proper left, is a seated female figure, her back turned. In her proper right arm she holds an infant. She wears a gown which is draped over one shoulder.

At the top of the right panel, a woman sits in profile and knits. She is nude except for a cloth draped over her knees. At the bottom of the panel, a man in profile chops a tree with an axe. He wears a hat; a knife hangs from a belt around his waist.

Figure male -- Full length

Figure female -- Full length

Figure group -- Family

Figure group -- Female & Child

Recreation -- Leisure -- Reading

Object -- Written Matter -- Book

Occupation -- Farm

Occupation -- Domestic -- Sewing

Occupation -- Industry -- Lumber

Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- Oakland

Architectural component

Administered by City of Oakland, 1421 Washington Street, Room 409, Oakland, California 94612

Located Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, 10 Tenth Street, Oakland, California

Formerly located Oakland Auditorium, 10 Tenth Street, Oakland, California 1915-1982.

One of a series of seven niches entitled "The Riches of the Earth" along the north wall of the Oakland Auditorium. The auditorium was renamed the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in the 1980's. Terra cotta for the niches was supplied by N. Clark & Son. Donovan was architect for the building and Hornbostel was consulting architect. Donovan was later replaced as supervising architect by Mathews. Couchot was engineer for the building project. Final cost of the building including sculpture was $978,052. Dates given are for construction of the auditorium. IAS files contain copy of related State of California Historic Resources Inventory and copy of related article from Oakland Tribune, Jan. 29, 1961.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, California survey, 1994.

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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