The Rise and Progress of Michigan, (sculpture).

The Rise and Progress of Michigan, (sculpture).

Wehner, Carl H., 1847-1921, sculptor.

Ives, Lewis T., 1833-1894, designer.

Rutter, Richard, carver.

Glaister, Richard, carver.

The Rise and Progress of Michigan, (sculpture).

1875-1876. Installed 1876. Dedicated Jan. 1, 1879.

Overall: approx. H. 7 ft. x W. 36 ft.

The pediment over the main entrance to the Michigan State Capitol contains an allegorical relief illustrating the rise and progress of Michigan. The central figure, a female in Native-American dress, represents Michigan. In her hands are symbols of education --a globe in her proper right hand and a book in her proper left hand. On the ground by her proper right foot are a scalping knife and a tomahawk --symbols of the weapons she has cast aside. She is flanked by symbols of the major nineteenth century industries. On her proper right is an allegorical female figure representing commerce. She is seated on a bale of goods and rests her proper right hand on an anchor. Behind her is the hull of a ship. Beyond her, at the far left end of the pediment, are symbols of the lumber industry --a tree stump with an axe. To the proper left of the central figure is a seated allegorical female figure representing agriculture. She holds a cornucopia brimming with fruit in her proper right hand and a plow handle in her proper left hand. Beyond her, at the far right end of the pediment, are symbols of the mining industry --a pile of ore and mining tools including a sledge hammer and a pick axe.

Allegory -- Place -- Michigan

Figure group -- Female

Ethnic -- Indian

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Agriculture

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Industry

Outdoor Sculpture -- Michigan -- Lansing

Administered by Michigan Capitol Committee, Legislative Service Bureau, 124 West Allegan, P. O. Box 30036, Lansing, Michigan 48909

Located Michigan State Capitol, Pediment over main entrance, Lansing, Michigan

In Nov. 1875, sculptor Carl H. Wehner won the contract to model the pediment sculpture, but in Jan. 1876, Detroit painter Lewis T. Ives was hired to redesign the sculptures. By May 1876 Wehner's plaster models were nearly complete and carver Richard Rutter and master carver Richard Glaister began work. By Oct. 1876, all of the sculptures were in place on the pediment.

IAS files contain excerpts from Ellen C. Hathaway's "Your Capitol and Mine: A Story of Michigan's Government for Young Readers," Lansing, MI: Michigan Historical Commission, 1953, pg. 67-68; Virginia Hutcheson's "Michigan's State Capitol: History, Art and Architecture," Lansing, MI: State of Michigan, Dept. of Management, 1986; and a variety of articles that appeared in the Lansing Republican from 1875-1876. For additional information see The Lansing Republican, Nov. 19, 1875; Jan. 28, 1876; May 19, 1876; June 30, 1876; Aug. 29, 1876; Nov. 9, 1876; and Oct. 10, 1876; and The Detroit Tribune, Jan. 25, 1876. The collection of the Michigan State Library in Lansing includes Orien Austin Jenison's scrapbooks (1871-1879) which contain clippings and notations related to the construction of the Capitol.

Hendry, Fay L., "Outdoor Sculpture in Lansing," Okemos, Michigan: iota Press, 1980, pg. 16.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Michigan survey, 1993.

Hendry, Fay L., "Outdoor Sculpture in Lansing," Okemos, Michigan: iota Press, 1980, pg. 16.

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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