Buffalo City Hall Friezes, (sculpture).

Buffalo City Hall Friezes, (sculpture).

Stewart, Albert, 1900-1965, sculptor.

Buffalo City Hall Friezes, (sculpture).

2 friezes. Each frieze: approx. H. 11 ft. x W. 100 ft.

The frieze on the east side of the building is described by the artist: "The central figure is representative of the government of the city crowned as the Queen City of the Lakes, entering into her historical record, the present era. In the background are the electrical rays symbolic of her unlimited power, whilst half concealed back of the throne are the symbols of authority. Beneath her foot is the suppressed serpent of vice. On each side is a horn of plenty --on the left that of wheat and corn depicting agricultural prosperity, and on the right, water, indicative of Buffalo's dependence on the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal... Proceeding from each side is a group. On the left we have Architecture and Poetry, with Age giving council to Youth. On the right is depicted the family as a social unit, the man carrying the strongbox representing Thrift, the woman and child depicting Motherhood. Next on the right is Water Commerce, balanced on the left by figures representing the building and growth of the city; after these appear on the right, Education and Culture, and corresponding to these on the left, Chemistry and Healing. The group at the extreme right, symbolize modern transportation by rail, by water, and by air; the group at the extreme left, placed about a dynamo, are three figures suggesting Electricity and its subsidiaries."

The frieze on the west side of the building depicts five scenes from the early history of Buffalo. First, dated 1758, is an exchange between French Canadian and Native Americans. Then, dated 1803, is a group representing the Holland Land Company, surveying the city when it was still named New Amsterdam. The third, dated 1810, depicts a group representing the friendship between Buffalo and the Seneca Indians. The fourth, dated 1820, depicts the Buffalo Harbor project. And the fifth, dated 1825, depicts the Erie Canal.

Allegory -- Place -- Buffalo

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Poetry

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Architecture

Allegory -- Life -- Youth

Allegory -- Life -- Old Age

Figure group -- Family

Allegory -- Life -- Womanhood

Allegory -- Life -- Manhood

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Medicine

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Education

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Chemistry

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Art

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Transportation

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Electricity

Ethnic -- Indian -- Seneca

Landscape -- River -- Erie Canal

History -- United States -- New York

Waterscape -- Harbor -- Buffalo Harbor

Outdoor Sculpture -- New York -- Buffalo

Administered by City of Buffalo, Buffalo Arts Commission, Department of Community Development, 920 City Hall, Buffalo, New York 14202

Located Buffalo City Hall, Buffalo, New York

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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