Pioneer Woman, (sculpture).

Pioneer Woman, (sculpture).

Baker, Bryant, 1881-1970, sculptor.

Pioneer Woman, (sculpture).

Confidence, (sculpture).

1929. Dedicated April 22, 1930.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: silver dale limestone.

Sculpture: approx. H. 17 ft.; Base: approx. H. 13 ft. (12,000 pounds).

Bryant Baker, Sculptor 1929 (Metal plaque on front of base:) THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED BY E.W. MARLAND IN APPRECIATION/OF THE HEROIC CHARACTER OF THE WOMEN WHO BRAVED THE DANGERS AND ENDURED THE HARDSHIPS INCIDENT TO THE DAILY LIFE OF THE PIONEER AND HOMESTEADER IN THIS COUNTRY (Engraved in stone just below the woman, center front:) PIONEER WOMAN signed

Full-length figure of young pioneer mother striding forward, protectively leading her son by the hand. The mother holds a book in her proper right hand and her son's hand in her left hand.

History -- United States -- Westward Expansion

Dress -- Historic -- Pioneer Dress

Figure group -- Family -- Mother & Child

Outdoor Sculpture -- Oklahoma -- Ponca City

Administered by State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Historical Society, Museums Division, 2100 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105

Located Pioneer Woman State Museum, 701 Monument Road, Ponca City, Oklahoma 74604

The idea for the sculpture originated in 1926 with E. W. Marland, who sponsored a national design contest. Four months later models were exhibited across the country, and 750,000 people cast a vote for their preference. Bryant Baker's model received the largest number of votes by a wide margin. The sculpture cost $300,000. E. W. Marland and his wife Lyde, donated the statue to the State of Oklahoma to commemorate the pioneer woman who played such an important part in the settlement of the West. E. W. Marland was the founder and president of the Marland Oil Company (now Conoco), a U. S. Congressman from 1933-1935, and 10th governor of Oklahoma (1935-1929). Marland donated the land on which the sculpture is installed. The sculpture was later adopted as the logo for Ponca City, and on Sept. 16, 1958 the Pioneer Woman State Museum was dedicated. The museum is under the administration of the Oklahoma Historical Society, a state agency. The sculpture may originally have been titled "Confidence" by the artist. The sculpture was cleaned by the Jaycees (following the artist's instructions) in 1951, 1964, and 1994.

Extensive collection of documents, including dedication booklets and newspaper and magazine articles are housed in the vertical files at the Ponca City Public Library. IAS files contain copy of dedication pamphlet; related articles from The Ponca City News (dating from May 1964 to Oct. 1996) and Daily Oklahoman (Sept. 19, 1994, pg. 1). IAS files also contain photocopy of publication "Exhibition of Models for a Monument to the Pioneer Woman," Reinhardt Galleries, N.Y., n.d.; and documents pertaining to copyright law suit filed in 1958 by the artist against a Tulsa bank and the State of Oklahoma.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Oklahoma survey, 1996.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Pioneer Woman Statue, Museum, and State Park, 1985, 1989.

Inventory staff, 2000.

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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