Pioneer Memorial, (sculpture).

Pioneer Memorial, (sculpture).

Maybeck, Bernard, 1862-1957, architect.

Bufano, Beniamino, 1898-1970, sculptor.

Miletin, Steve, contractor.

Maybeck & White, architectural firm.

Mission Marble Works, contractor.

Pioneer Memorial, (sculpture).

Freeman Pioneer Memorial Maybeck - Bufano Bench, (sculpture).

Bufano Bench, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: green verde antique marble, light onyx marble, blue onyx marble, travertine marble, and Tennessee pink marble; Base: green verde antique marble, travertine marble, Tennessee pink marble, and bronze.

Sculpture: approx. 8 ft. 2 in. x 22 ft. x 16 ft.; Base: approx. H. 8 in. x Diam. 43.5 ft.

(On top of platform base in front of exedra, in recessed bronze lettering:) "TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE PIONEERS OF ARIZONA WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES THAT WE MAY LIVE IN PEACE AND UNAFRAID IN THIS SUNKISSED BORDERLAND." (On upper part of exedra seat back, incised lettering:) Erected by Merrill Pingree Freeman, Pioneer 1920 (On north end of exedra:) Executor's(sic) Fenner Goldschmidt Franklin

The memorial consists of a semicircular exedra seat topped with a freestanding amphora and adorned with a relief of a reclining man and woman engraved on the curving back of the exedra seat. The relief is a Classical Revival style relief depicting a woman and a man. The woman is asleep with her head back and resting on her proper left shoulder. Her proper right arm is raised and rests on the side of her head. Her long, straight hair hangs over her proper right arm and down her back. She is partially covered with drapery that leaves her proper right shoulder bare. At her feet is a sleeping child. The woman represents night, or the period when Tucson and the surrounding area was undeveloped. The awakening of the area is represented by a man reclining to her proper left holding a torch in his proper right hand. He is draped from the waist down and a child at his feet raises his drapery as though looking out upon a new day. Nearby two small children offer the fruits of the land.

The exedra seat rises on the west side of a circular marble faced platform base. Two large planters at the end of the exedra are made of yellow marble with inserts of dark green marble. A tall, free-standing amphora made of onyx marble with a green cap and base stands left of center on top of the exedra seat back above the relief. The exedra relief is made of pink Tennessee marble. The top the exedra seat is green verde antique marble with a rope-like border of travertine at the back. The riser supporting the seat is onyx marble. The cap on the seat and the buttresses and back of the exedra are travertine marble. The exedra seat rises on the west side of a circular marble faced platform base consisting of two steps. The larger bottom step extends behind the exedra and around the sides in an area designed for planting. Concentric circles of pink, green and travertine marble on the top step lead inward toward the foot of exedra seat.

State of Being -- Other -- Sleep

Allegory -- Time -- Night

Allegory -- Quality -- Truth

Object -- Other -- Torch

Object -- Fruit

Outdoor Sculpture -- Arizona -- Tucson

Administered by City of Tucson, Parks and Recreation Department, 900 South Randolph Way, Tucson, Arizona 85716

Located Tucson Public Library, 200 South 6th Avenue, In front, Tucson, Arizona

Formerly located Carnegie Free Library, 200 South 6th Avenue, In front, Tucson, Arizona

The memorial is a tribute to the memory of Arizona pioneers. It cost $10,438.80 and was funded by Tucson banker Merrill Pingree Freeman, who died in 1919 designating $11,000 in his will for a sculpture to be installed in honor of Arizona's pioneers. His will directed the three executors, Dr. Hiram W. Fenner, lawyer Selim M. Franklin, and merchant Leo Goldschmidt to carry out his wishes. The inscription on the platform base of the memorial is a quote from Merrill Pingree Freeman's will. The memorial was designed by architect Bernard Maybeck of Maybeck & White. He wanted the memorial's color scheme to represent the colors of the plains and deserts of the Tucson area. Maybeck engaged Beniamino Bufano to create the amphora and exedra relief.

The sculpture is installed in front of the Tucson Public Library which was formerly known as the Carnegie Free Library. Two weeks after the sculpture was installed, cracks began to appear in portions of the onyx and travertine that had been patched during construction. Contractor Quintus Monier repaired the defects by December 8, 1920. The sculpture was renovated in March of 1976 by Tucson Marble & Granite. The Armory Park Neighborhood Association raised $1,000 and convinced the city to contribute $4,000 towards the repair effort. IAS files contain dimensions for each part of the exedra. For related reading see Robert M. Quinn's "Guide to Public Art in Tucson," Tucson, AZ: Tucson/Pima Arts Council, 1987, pg. 15. IAS files contain William Bigglestone's unpublished manuscript, "Tucson's Oldest Public Art: The Freeman Memorial," Jan. 1989, which includes an extensive bibliography.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Arizona, Tucson survey, 1992.

SOS Conservation Treatment Award, 1999.

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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