Sarah T. Bolton (relief)
Encyclopedia
Sarah T. Bolton is a public art
work by American
artist Emma Sangernebo (1877–1969). It is located on the second floor of the rotunda
in the Indiana State House, Indianapolis
, Indiana
, USA. It is a bronze sculptural
relief
of Indiana poet Sarah Tittle Bolton
, nee
Barrett (18 December 1814 – 4 August 1893) and contains four lines from Bolton's poem "Indiana."
relief. The portrait of Bolton occupies the middle ground of the plaque and depicts Bolton in a ¾ view. In the upper left corner of the plaque are four lines from Bolton's "Indiana." Below the portrait is the plaque’s dedication. Sangernebo’s signature and the year 1941 are below the portrait to the right.
The broad face is free of lines and wrinkles, and the features of her eyes, nose, and mouth are finely rendered. Her hair is parted in the center with a single pin-curl at her temple. A fringed cap rests half-way back on her head and is folded behind her ear. There is a cameo at her throat, and the collar is fringed. Her shawl and bodice are plain and without definition or folds. Under the right breast are Bolton’s life dates, 1814–1893.
At the top of the relief are four stanzas from Bolton's poem "Indiana:"
Below the portrait is the dedication:
The plaque is 49 inches (124.5 cm) tall, 31 1/8 inches (79 cm) wide, and approximately ¾ inch (2 cm) deep. The ground of the relief is dull and has a pebbled surface. The face and letter fronts have a polished, shiny patina
. The relief is mounted to the wall with four socket cap screw
s, one in each upper corner and one on each side approximately six inches from the bottom. The right side screw is missing. The Indiana State Museum
reported on 15 May 2006 that the sculpture's condition was excellent.
Emma Sangernebo, nee Elyes (1877–1969), was a well-known local artist trained at Herron Art School, Indianapolis. She was both a sculptor and painter. A member of the National League of American Pen Women, she was awarded the commission. Sangernebo based the sculpture on a photograph of Bolton that appeared in Bolton’s Life and Poems of Sarah Tittle Bolton (1880). She completed the sculpture in Chicago where it was also cast.
The sculpture was installed on October 18, 1941 in the northeast niche on the second floor of the State House rotunda where it remains today. At the dedication ceremony, Bolton Mann, the great-great-grandson of Sarah T. Bolton, unveiled the relief sculpture. Walter Flandorf (1893–1949), husband of Vera Sangernebo (1902–2001), daughter of Emma and Alexander Sangernebo, put Bolton’s “Paddle Your Own Canoe” to music.
Public art
The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
work by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist Emma Sangernebo (1877–1969). It is located on the second floor of the rotunda
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
in the Indiana State House, Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, USA. It is a bronze sculptural
Bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply a "bronze".Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mold. Then, as the bronze cools, it...
relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
of Indiana poet Sarah Tittle Bolton
Sarah T. Bolton
Sarah T. Bolton , an American poet and Indiana's "pioneer poet," is best known for her poem “Paddle Your Own Canoe” . An activist for women’s rights, she worked with Robert Dale Owen during Indiana's 1850–1851 Constitutional Convention to include the recognition of women's property rights...
, nee
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Barrett (18 December 1814 – 4 August 1893) and contains four lines from Bolton's poem "Indiana."
Description
Sarah T. Bolton is a cast bronzeBronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
relief. The portrait of Bolton occupies the middle ground of the plaque and depicts Bolton in a ¾ view. In the upper left corner of the plaque are four lines from Bolton's "Indiana." Below the portrait is the plaque’s dedication. Sangernebo’s signature and the year 1941 are below the portrait to the right.
The broad face is free of lines and wrinkles, and the features of her eyes, nose, and mouth are finely rendered. Her hair is parted in the center with a single pin-curl at her temple. A fringed cap rests half-way back on her head and is folded behind her ear. There is a cameo at her throat, and the collar is fringed. Her shawl and bodice are plain and without definition or folds. Under the right breast are Bolton’s life dates, 1814–1893.
At the top of the relief are four stanzas from Bolton's poem "Indiana:"
The Winds of heaven never fanned
The circling sunlight never spanned
The Borders of a better land
Than our own Indiana.
Below the portrait is the dedication:
In Honor of Sarah Tittle Bolton Indiana's
Pioneer Poet – in commemoration of
Her creative work this plaque is
Placed by the Indiana Branch –
National League – American Penwomen.
The plaque is 49 inches (124.5 cm) tall, 31 1/8 inches (79 cm) wide, and approximately ¾ inch (2 cm) deep. The ground of the relief is dull and has a pebbled surface. The face and letter fronts have a polished, shiny patina
Patina
Patina is a tarnish that forms on the surface of bronze and similar metals ; a sheen on wooden furniture produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure...
. The relief is mounted to the wall with four socket cap screw
Screw
A screw, or bolt, is a type of fastener characterized by a helical ridge, known as an external thread or just thread, wrapped around a cylinder. Some screw threads are designed to mate with a complementary thread, known as an internal thread, often in the form of a nut or an object that has the...
s, one in each upper corner and one on each side approximately six inches from the bottom. The right side screw is missing. The Indiana State Museum
Indiana State Museum
The Indiana State Museum is a museum located within White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The museum houses exhibits on the history of Indiana from prehistoric times up to the present day. It has one of the four IMAX theaters in the state of Indiana.-History:The museum was started...
reported on 15 May 2006 that the sculpture's condition was excellent.
Historical information
Olive Inez Downing (c. 1888–1963) proposed that the Indiana Branch of the League of American Pen Women commission a sculpture honoring Sarah T. Bolton and arrange to install in the State House. Sarah T. Bolton was known as the “Pioneer Poet Laureate of Indiana.” Her poems are published in Poems (1865), Life and Poems of Sarah Tittle Bolton (1880), and Songs of a Lifetime (1892). Her most well known poem is “Paddle Your Own Canoe.”Emma Sangernebo, nee Elyes (1877–1969), was a well-known local artist trained at Herron Art School, Indianapolis. She was both a sculptor and painter. A member of the National League of American Pen Women, she was awarded the commission. Sangernebo based the sculpture on a photograph of Bolton that appeared in Bolton’s Life and Poems of Sarah Tittle Bolton (1880). She completed the sculpture in Chicago where it was also cast.
The sculpture was installed on October 18, 1941 in the northeast niche on the second floor of the State House rotunda where it remains today. At the dedication ceremony, Bolton Mann, the great-great-grandson of Sarah T. Bolton, unveiled the relief sculpture. Walter Flandorf (1893–1949), husband of Vera Sangernebo (1902–2001), daughter of Emma and Alexander Sangernebo, put Bolton’s “Paddle Your Own Canoe” to music.
See also
- Frances Elizabeth Willard (plaque)
- Plaque Commemorating First Formal Religious Service, Indianapolis (Howard Petty)Plaque Commemorating First Formal Religious Service, Indianapolis (Howard Petty)Plaque Commemorating First Formal Religious Service , is a public artwork by American artist Howard Petty, located on the Indiana Statehouse, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. It was created in 1923 and set in the Indiana statehouse in 1924. It commemorates the first religious services held...