Spirit of Indiana is a public artwork by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 artist Eugene Francis Savage

Eugene Francis Savage

Eugene Francis Savage was an American painter and sculptor known for his murals in the manner made official under the Works Projects Administration. He also is known for his work on the Bailey Fountain in Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, New York.He was born in Covington, Indiana...

, located in the Indiana State House

Indiana State House

The Indiana Statehouse is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. Housing the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Supreme Court of Indiana, and other state officials, it is located in the state capital Indianapolis at 200 West Washington Street...

, which is in 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. The mural is 21 feet high by 41.5 feet wide, oil on linen canvas. It was commissioned in 1961 and installation was finished in 1964 .

Description

The mural is on the east wall of the Indiana House of Representatives

Indiana House of Representatives

The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House members serve two-year terms without term limits...

 in the Indiana State House. On the far left side, Education holds a torch and offers a cornucopia of "cherished things" as a burnt sacrifice as Pegasus

Pegasus

Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...

 and Apollo

Apollo

Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...

 rise from the smoke. To their right, Indiana is depicted as a woman in an empire gown of 1816 entering into her statehood, escorted by William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...

. The pair stands in front of a sycamore

Sycamore

Sycamore is a name which is applied at various times and places to three very different types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms....

 tree. The right side of the mural depicts the Greek goddess Ceres

Ceres (mythology)

In ancient Roman religion, Ceres was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. She was originally the central deity in Rome's so-called plebeian or Aventine Triad, then was paired with her daughter Proserpina in what Romans described as "the Greek rites of Ceres"...

 presiding over the work of Indiana's agriculture and industry as their products are loaded on ships and transported around the world. In the background, behind the sycamore, cloud formations represent the pioneer, settlement, and Civil War periods of Indiana's history .

Historical information

The mural was initially commissioned on May 31, 1961. It was originally titled "The Apotheosis

Apotheosis

Apotheosis is the glorification of a subject to divine level. The term has meanings in theology, where it refers to a belief, and in art, where it refers to a genre.In theology, the term apotheosis refers to the idea that an individual has been raised to godlike stature...

 of Indiana (1860-1960)." The preliminary designs were approved by a representative of then-Governor Matthew E. Welsh

Matthew E. Welsh

Matthew Empson Welsh was the 41st Governor of Indiana from the Democratic Party, serving from 1961 to 1965. His term as governor saw a major increase in statewide taxation, including the first state sales tax, and the passage of a several important civil rights bills making Indiana one of the most...

and final approval of the work was made by a gubernatorial representative and the Abbey Fund Committee. It was completed in Savage's studio and moved to the State House to be installed..

The work cost $40,000 and was paid for entirely by an Abbey Fund grant.

External links

• "The Spirit of the Land Grant College", another mural by Savage at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
• Indiana Statehouse Tour Office
• View more photos of this piece and other artwork found at the Indiana Statehouse