Fig. I. Evarts Tracy, American, 1868-1929 and Egerton Swartwout, American, 1872-1944, architects. Missouri State Capitol, South Elevation, Jefferson City, Missouri, 1912-1917. Photo: Jeffrey L. Ball. 24 THE MISSOURI MURALS: STUDIES FOR THE STATE CAPITOL DECORATIONS Jeffrey L. Ball Introduction Mention the Missouri State Capitol and mural painting, and most people think of Thomas Hart Benton's famous work The Social History ofMissouri, which he painted for the lounge of the House of Representatives from 1934 to 1936. Yet this important mural cycle is not part of the original work at the capitol.' Predating his paintings is an extensive set of decorations carried out from 1919 to 1927 by dozens of artists in many different media, including seventy-eight murals by twenty-five painters. 2 The Missouri capitol (Fig. 1) was one of the last buildings to be extensively decorated in the tradition of the American Renaissance, and the amount of art work added to the new building was rivaled by few other structures in America. 3 The purpose of this article is to take a closer look at the original murals by means of the impressive collection of artists' studies that survive and are a part of the holdings of the Museum of Art and Archaeology and the Special Collections Department of Ellis Library, both at the University of Missouri-Columbia.4 Mural Painting In America At the Turn ofthe Century State capitols are ideal buildings to decorate. The reason is to be found in the conceptual role of public art in the theories of many of the most popular muralists, sculptors, and architects in the United States during the period around the turn of the century. The leading spokesman among the muralists, Edwin Blashfield, wrote that "all municipal art should be at once a decoration and a commemoration. It must beautify and should celebrate; thus becoming a double stimulus, first to the aesthetic sense, second to the sense of patriotism."5 These words were echoed by the architect Cass Gilbert: It [public art] is an inspiration toward patriotism and good citizenship, it encourages just pride in the state, and is an education to on-coming gen­ erations to see these things, imponderable elements of life and character, set before the people for their enjoyment and betterment ... it is a symbol of the civilization, culture and ideals of our country.6 25 THE MISSOURI MURALS: STUDIES FOR THE STATE CA PITOL DECORATIONS Where better to place such inspirational and educational adornments than in the spaces of a capitol building? It is, after all, the most important symbolic public building for a state, wherein are housed the functions of democratic govern­ ment-the most cherished of American institutions. At the very least, on the idealistic level, state capitols are supposed to represent the qualities of justice, benevolence, and patriotism that are the hallmarks of the conceptions of a great and noble society. It is on this ideal plane that public art during the period of the American Renaissance was meant to operate, and this was especially true for mural painting.7 In their uplifting visions of history, their presentations of" heroes", and their unsullied and hopeful views toward ethics and government, muralists were seen to be serving in their traditional artistic role as illustrators of societal ideals: Throughout history the great decorated Public Building has been one of the most valuable assets of a nation, the stimulus of the indifferent, the educator of the ignorant, the teacher of aesthetics, patriotism and morals.8 It is in the state capitols built in the decades surrounding the turn-of-the­ century that these sentiments were best fulfilled. They embody, more than any other building type in America, monumental architecture, sculpture, and mural painting in the grand manner; they are statements of the governments' ambition, pride, respect for their past, and hope for their future. These ideas reached their seminal expression at the 1893 Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. The fair set the popular tastes for art and architecture for the next three decades, for it was in Chicago that the American public was . exposed to the effects of the combination of sculptural, mural, and architectural decorations applied to monumental buildings. There had been important mural commissions in America before the fair, but none galvanized the popular imagina­ tion like those that were seen in Chicago.9 The soon-to-be-finished decoration programs for the Boston Public Library and the Library of Congress only added to the sudden popularity of mural painting, and architects and artists wrote often in their professional journals of the need to complete new structures with the addition of decorative programs. Another sign of the increased interest in this type of art was the establishment of the National Society of Mural Painters, which was founded in 1895 to set professional standards and to further popularize the concept of public decoration. It was strongly felt by artist and architect alike that a building was not finished until it had been given the proper decorative touch by the 26 JEFFR EY L. BALL muralist, sculptor, designer, and decorator: it is surely the time to renew the alliance of architecture, the center point of all the ans, with painting, under the influence of the early Renaissance, while at the same time striving for a style in harmony with the best aims of modern civilization and artistic development. 10 Or as Edwin Blashfield wrote in 1914, "Decorative Art is the art of embellish­ ing the background of life." 11 So, given their importance, state capitols often became the testing grounds for these developing ideas about the role of public art in America. Some of the largest and most elaborate mural cycles were commissioned for the newly built capitols, with those in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota leading the way. These commissions attracted the leading muralists of the day, providing significant amounts of work for Edwin Blash field, Kenyon Cox, Edwin Austin Abbey, John La Farge, and Violet Oakley, among others. The paintings ranged from histori- cal events to symbolic statements of state­ hood bur were mostly allegorical expres­ sions of everything from agriculture to the settlement of the Wes t. Three types of subjects were common. Large, white­ clad female figures dominate many of the compositions: if she sits next to farming tools, she represents Agriculture; if it is palettes and brushes, she represents Art. A separate type of painting will include these figures with historical details; thus, pioneers are led to the west by figures of Progress or Destiny; George Washington lays down his sword at the feet of Victory or Democracy, rather than the Continental Congress. The third type of mural typically displayed historical Fig. 2. Sir Frank Brangwyn, British, 1867-1956. Murals events as straightforwardly as possible. in Rotunda Areas, Missouri State Capitol, 1920 -25. Photo: This last type emerged around 1910 or Jeffrey L. Ball. 27 THE MISSOURI MURALS: STUDIES FOR THE STATE CAPITOL DECORATIONS so, and slowly began to replace the earlier two types of subjects.'2 The allegorical type of art is represented at the Missouri capitol in mostly sculptural works and stained-glass windows, but one large mural cycle demon­ strates this style. These canvases are by the British artist Frank Brangwyn, who was commissioned to decorate the area under the dome, the most important public space in the building. For the lower level of the rotunda he painted eight canvases encompassing two themes (Fig. 2); four wide murals depict Water, Air, Fire, and Earth, and interspersed between these are four smaller paintings of Education, Science (Fig. 3), Art, and Agriculture. The conception here is that the elemental forces of nature are put to the service of mankind by means of intel­ lectual advances, all for the greater good of the growth of Missouri. The universalist viewpoint of these lower dome paintings, which would fit equally well in any other state capitol, is made only slightly more specific in the canvases Brangwyn painted for the upper rotunda. Here he painted four murals for the dome pendentives, each Fig. 3. Sir Frank Brangwyn, British, 1867-1956. Compositional study for "Science" as if seen from the lower rotunda, c. 1923-25, charcoal and pastels showing a successive stage on composition board, 55.8 cm x 66.0 cm. Museum of Arc and of"civilization" in the his- Archaeology, University of Missouri-Columbia, acc. no. 87.13. tory of the state. The First Landing (of white settlers, Pierre Laclede in this case) gives way to the First Settlers, who are replaced by the Home Builders, which is in turn succeeded by the Modern State. The settings and figures in these works are generic and include such stereotypes as the pioneer mother and child, as well as typical Brangwyn symbols such as a bridge to represent modern technological advances. Overall, the themes presented in the two levels of paintings are best read in an allegorical context rather than in any specific historical terms, and thus are close to the conceptions articulated by Blashfield and the other leaders of the American Renaissance. 28 JEFFREY L. BALL The majority of the Missouri murals, however, are done in the more straight­ forward historical style and are the best example of a change in attitude by artists and critics in the period from 1910 to 1930 about the proper role and appearance of decorations for public monuments. By championing a style that relied on seem­ ingly historically accurate depictions of past events and subjects, this art strives to communicate with the public in as democratic (i.e. realistic and illustrative) a guise as possible.