The Colonel James Anderson Monument is a public monument in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Pennsylvania, United States. It was designed by
Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture ''The Minute Man'' in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monume ...
and commissioned by businessman and philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
. Anderson had opened his personal book collection to the youth of
Allegheny, Pennsylvania, including Carnegie, and his actions would later inspire Carnegie to create the
Carnegie library system. The monument, dedicated in 1904, is located outside the
Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny
The Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny is situated in the Allegheny Center neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was commissioned in 1886, the first Carnegie library to be commissioned in the United States. Donated to the public by entr ...
.
History
James Anderson, the son of
William Anderson William Anderson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* William Anderson (artist) (1757–1837), painter of marine and historical paintings
* William Anderson (theatre) (1868–1940), Australian stage entrepreneur
* William Anderson (1911–1986), ...
, was born in
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania in 1785. During the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, he served under
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
and attained the rank of
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
. Following the war, he became a businessman in the
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
area and, later in life, a philanthropist. He later died in 1861. During the 1850s and 1860s, in one act of philanthropy, he opened his personal library of 400 volumes to the "working boys" of
Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
and several of his friends were among those "working boys" in the city who regularly checked out books from Anderson's library. Carnegie was greatly affected by the library, later stating in his autobiography that "in this way the windows were opened in the walls of my dungeon through which the light of knowledge streamed in". It is believed that Anderson's free library would later inspire Carnegie to set up the
Carnegie library system. Carnegie later claimed that "when fortune smiled upon me, one of my first duties was the erection of a monument to my benefactor".
On January 6, 1898, Carnegie sent a letter to his associate William Nimick Frew expressing his wish to erect a monument in Anderson's honor in front of the
Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny
The Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny is situated in the Allegheny Center neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was commissioned in 1886, the first Carnegie library to be commissioned in the United States. Donated to the public by entr ...
, which was the first publicly funded Carnegie library. On February 8, Frew notified Allegheny mayor Charles Geyer of Carnegie's wishes. Carnegie also asked Frew to discuss the plan with
Howard Russell Butler
Howard Russell Butler (March 3, 1856 – May 20, 1934) was an American painter and founder of the American Fine Arts Society. Butler persuaded Andrew Carnegie to fund the construction of Carnegie Lake near Princeton University, supervised the con ...
, and while Carnegie initially recommended seeking out
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he trave ...
to design the monument, ultimately
Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture ''The Minute Man'' in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monume ...
was chosen as the sculptor for the monument. However, French was preoccupied at the time and did not start on the monument until 1902. That same year, before the monument's completion, the Allegheny
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
organized a committee to handle the location for the monument, as well as its unveiling ceremony.
Henry Bacon
Henry Bacon (November 28, 1866February 16, 1924) was an American Beaux-Arts architect who is best remembered for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. (built 1915–1922), which was his final project.
Education and early career
Henr ...
served as the architect for the monument, and Robert Caterson of New York City served as the
general contractor
A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...
.
The monument was
dedicated on June 15, 1904. As part of the ceremonies, multiple civic organizations participated in a parade, and a marching band performed before an audience of approximately 10,000 spectators. According to a history book, it was the "second major work of
public art" commissioned in the Pittsburgh and the first to be unveiled in a large ceremony. Frew presented the monument, which was unveiled by L. Andele Anderson and received on behalf of the city by Mayor James G. Wyman. Music and singing was provided by both the American Military Band and the United German Singing Societies, while addresses were given by Samuel Harden Church,
Stephen G. Porter
Stephen Geyer Porter (May 18, 1869 – June 27, 1930) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
Biography
Porter was born near Salem, Ohio. In 1877, he moved to Pennsylvania with his parents, who settle ...
, J. Leonard Levy, George D. Riddle, L. L. Gilbert,
The Reverend
The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...
Francis P. Ward, and Richard B. Scandrett. Additionally, a poem was read by George Barbour and a
benediction was given by The Reverend J. A. Jayne to close the ceremony.
The monument was originally located in Diamond Square, at the corner of East Ohio Street and Federal Street. However, in the 1960s, the monument was dismantled by the
Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh during their creation of
Allegheny Center
Allegheny Center is a neighborhood on Pittsburgh's North Side. Its zip code is 15212, and it has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by both council members for District 6 (Downtown, North Shore) and District 1 (Northside).
History
In ...
. In 1984, the
Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation
The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 to support the preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
In 1966, PHLF established the Revolving Fund for ...
initiated a campaign to restore the monument. As a result, while the sculptures are original, the remainder of the monument, including the stone pedestals and bench, is a replica. Today, the monument is located in Allegheny Center, across from the library building.
Design
The monument consists of an
exedra
An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...
and features two
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
sculptures. Atop a
column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
is one sculpture, a
bust of Anderson, which is situated behind the other sculpture, a -tall
statue
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of a worker. The shirtless worker is seated on an
anvil
An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked").
Anvils are as massive as practical, because the higher th ...
and reading a book. The statue of the reader is variously known as either ''Labor'' or ''Labor Reading''. In front of the monument is a bronze plaque measuring by . It bears the following inscription:
Analysis
Historian Edward Slavishak notes that the sculpture of ''Labor'' depicts Carnegie's ideas of an individual rising up from working-class conditions through education and the relationship between
capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
and worker where the capitalist serves as a
patron, in this case by providing knowledge to the worker. According to Slavishak, "
e displayed worker turned his site of work, the anvil, into a stage for self-education, not manly toil. In Carnegie's vision and French's execution, the worker made a conscious decision to abandon work, yet never strayed far from the workplace". He also argues that ''Labor'' depicts Carnegie's "ideal labor force", where strength, while evident, was secondary to mental pursuits.
See also
*
1904 in art
Events from the year 1904 in art.
Events
* April
** Octavian Smigelschi is selected to paint the interior decoration of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Sibiu.
** George Frederic Watts (dies 1 July) opens the Watts Gallery in the English village of Compt ...
*
Public sculptures by Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French (1850–1931) was an American sculptor who was active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, to Anne Richardson French and Henry Flagg French on April 20, 1850. His father, a polyma ...
References
Bibliography
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{{Daniel Chester French
1904 establishments in Pennsylvania
1904 sculptures
Andrew Carnegie
Bronze sculptures in Pennsylvania
Busts in the United States
Monuments and memorials in Pittsburgh
Outdoor sculptures in Pennsylvania
Relocated buildings and structures in Pennsylvania
Sculptures by Daniel Chester French
Sculptures of men in Pennsylvania
Statues in Pennsylvania