The Art of the Missouri Capitol

by Priddy, Bob; Ball, Jeffrey; Winn, Kenneth

• ISBN13: 9780826219213
• ISBN10: 0826219217
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-07-10
• Publisher: Univ of Missouri Pr

Summary

Following the destruction by fire of Missourirs"s state capitol building in 1911, voters approved a bond issue to construct a new building. The tax produced a one million-dollar surplus beyond the four million-dollar cost of construction, so with a vast amount of money available to outfit the new capitol, Missourirs"s political leaders asked a special collection of art-minded Americans to execute the decoration program. Some of the nationrs"s leading painters and sculptors were commissioned to create powerful, huge pieces of art to adorn Missourirs"s most important new structure. The art on the walls of the Missouri Capitol was once considered the finest to adorn any state capitol in the nation. But the passage of time has lessened recognition of the pieces, and many members of the Missouri public even those wandering the marble halls of the Capitol today have little knowledge of the significance of the art and the history it portrays. Authors Bob Priddy and Jeffrey Ball return the Capitolrs"s art to prominence inMissourirs"s State Capitol: One Great Feast of Art and History. The book tells the many stories behind the art: the rigors of its creation, the political roadblocks that endangered the decoration program, and the triumph of the commissioners who devoted over ten years to the project. Missourirs"s State Capitolpresents the art of the Capitol in 270 high-resolution images, mostly of the buildingrs"s many compelling paintings, murals, and sculptures. Authors Priddy, a journalist, and Ball, an art history instructor, use a wealth of historical materials to connect the grand design of the Capitol with accounts of the temperamental artists and meddling politicians involved in the decoration program. The authors provide historical and artistic context to explain the many surprising, controversial choices the artists made, and they use Missouri history to expound on the tales rendered in the artwork, revealing the events and inaccuracies that the paintings bring to life. The authors wrote this book to honor the Missouri Capitolrs"s artistic excellence, and they do so in a way that will appeal to art enthusiasts and history buffs as well as general readers.Missourirs"s State Capitol: One Great Feast of Art and Historyis the definitive account of the Missouri Capitolrs"s artistic decoration in print-it tells the stories of the artrs"s creation, of the men who produced it, and of the Missourians who lived the history that inspired it.