Commerce

Daniel Chester French
Commerce
1912

Marble: 12' x 7 1/2' x 8'

Daniel Chester French (1850 - 1931) was born in Exeter, New Hampshire to an established New England family. In 1866, French's father moved the family to Concord, Massachusetts, the intellectual capital of New England at the time.  French studied briefly at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before deciding to pursue sculpture more seriously.  The town of Concord gave Daniel French the opportunity to sculpt his first statue, The Minuteman, at age twenty-three.  The success of this piece allowed French an opportunity to study in Florence, Italy until 1876.  Through his long and illustrious career as America's preeminent architectural sculptor, French completed over two hundred and fifty adornments and sculptures for federal, municipal, and private commissions.  his pinnacle piece was Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.  French received many awards and honorarium degrees and sat as trustee and fellow for many societies, including the National Sculpture Society that he founded.

Commerce and its compliment Jurisprudnce are created in the Beaux Arts style that dominanted architecture during the turn of the century.  The heroic white marble sculptures placed upon ten-foot tall granite plinths, are part of thebuilding facade and illustrate the goal of Beaux Arts that emphasized the integration of art and architecture.  Commerce sits upon a throne holding a model of a turtleback steamship in her right arm and rests her left arm on a globe representing the world.  Her right foot rests upon a rope bale representing cargo.  Electricity, on the left, holds a magnet in her hand to catch wireless flashes.  Steam, on the right, holds a train wheel representing the railroad that allowed the increase of commerce throughout the country.  (FA465-A)

Fine Arts Collection
Public Building Service
General Services Administration

Submitted by
Bryan Arnold
@nanowhiskers