The apotheosis of democracy, 1908-1916

by Thomas P. Somma

The art of Paul Wayland Bartlett (1865-1925) and turn-of-the-century sculpture in general have been attracting increasing attention. A leading American sculptor of international reputation, Bartlett was one of the best-known artists in the United States. Bartlett's sculptural decoration for the House pediment at the U.S. Capitol Building was his most prestigious public monument and one of the most historically important federal commissions to be awarded in the United States during the early twentieth century. Its installation in the long-vacant House pediment finally brought to completion a project of Capitol expansion that had begun more than a half-century earlier. As such, it provides a valuable opportunity for exploring the early development of government-sponsored public sculpture in the United States. Unveiled just eight months prior to U.S. entry into World war I, the pediment also represents one of the most visible public expressions of the ideals of the late American Renaissan