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Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

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Fine & Decorative Art

Symbol Bearers

Artist:Eugene Savage
Date:1925
Medium:Watercolor On Artist's Paper
Dimensions:Sight Size 30 12" x 43 1/2" Framed 41" X 53"
Condition:Excellent
Original Use:Preparatory paintings for a Mural At The Elks Lodge - Chicago
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Full view
Full view
The artist's signature lower middle
The artist’s signature lower middle
Handsomely silk matted and framed under plexiglass
Handsomely silk matted and framed under plexiglass
Detail
Detail

A deeply moving reflection on the tremendous loss and upheaval caused by World War I, this allegorical preparatory painting by the American artist, sculptor and muralist Eugene Savage was a preliminary study for the epic murals that grace the Grand Reception Hall of the Elks Veterans Memorial and Headquarters, Chicago, IL. At the opening reception in 1926, Arthur Correy, the then president of the National Society of Mural Painters, called these works “the most important event in the history of American mural painting.” Filled with symbols of the best of humanity including doves of peace, goddesses of charity and brotherly love, this is a beautiful, somber, yet triumphant image. After his work on the Elks Memorial and a number of other large public projects, Savage was awarded the Gold Medal of Honor in 1929 by the Architectural League of New York.

Detail
Detail

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Frame profile corner view
Frame profile corner view

The Elks Veterans Memorial and Headquarters Building has been a Chicago landmark since its dedication on July 14, 1926. Designed by New York architect Egerton Swarthout, it is a grand piece of public architecture, functioning both as a moving memorial and a monumental headquarters for the time honored fraternal order. On site are sculptures by Adolph A. Weinman, James Earle Fraser and Fraser’s wife, Laura Gardin Fraser.

Eugene Savage and Edwin Blashfield were both hired by the Elks War Relief Commission to create murals rich with allegories of fraternity and patriotism, depicting the hardships and great losses suffered by mankind during the First World War which ended in 1918. This detailed and colorful watercolor study shows the short lived but optimistic prospect of peace as white doves fly away symbolically announcing the return of armistice.

Symbol Bearers

Artist: Eugene Savage

Filed Under: Fine & Decorative Art
Tagged With: 1920s, allegorical, american, art deco, chicago, Elks, Eugene Savage, gobig, Golden Age, muralist, WWI
Added to Gallery: November 14, 2018

 

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