Federal District Court Constitution Avenue between Third & Fourth Streets, N.W Washington District of Columbia
Date:
Dedicated Feb. 1, 1954
Notes:
Tampa Museum of Art, 1980.
Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 222.
Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.
Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.
Image on file.
Howarth, Shirley Reiff, "C. Paul Jennewein: Sculptor," Florida: Tampa Museum of Art, 1980, pg. 58.
Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, F-2.
(North side of trylon:) No person shall be...deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Summary:
This three-sided column symbolizes the division of power among the three branches of government: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. The north side represents the judicial branch of the government and is adorned with relief carvings of the Great Seal of the U.S., the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, and a quote from Article V of the Bill of Rights. The southeast side represents the legislative branch of the government and is adorned with relief images of a courtroom with a defendant standing before a judge and jury to illustrate the right to trial by jury, a man mediating between a prisoner and his executioner to illustrate protection against cruel and unusual punishment, and a wharf with confiscated goods to illustrate illegal search and seizure. The southwest side represents the executive branch and is adorned with relief carvings of men at work on a printing press to illustrate the right to freedom of press, a man giving a speech to illustrate the right to freedom of speech, and a woman kneeling in prayer and a man standing in front of a cross to illustrate freedom of religion.
