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''The Pioneer Mother Memorial'', also known as ''Pioneer Mother'' and ''Pioneer Mothers'', is a 1928
The memorial features a full-length bronze figure depicting a mother and three children. The woman wears traditional pioneer clothing, including a long dress, shawl, and shoes. She stands, facing forward, and holds a 
The memorial includes several inscriptions. One by the woman's foot reads, . The medallion has two inscriptions: one below the wagon displays a copyright symbol and reads, , while another says, . On the concrete backdrop below the medallion is the signed inscription: .
bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...
by American artist Avard Fairbanks
Avard Tennyson Fairbanks (March 2, 1897 – January 1, 1987) was a 20th-century American sculptor. Over his eighty-year career, he sculpted over 100 public monuments and hundreds of artworks. Fairbanks is known for his religious-themed commis ...
, installed at Esther Short Park
Esther Short Park is a public park and town square located in downtown Vancouver, Washington. Established in 1853, it is the oldest public park in the state of Washington. and one of the oldest public parks in the West.
It is located in the city's ...
in Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...
, in the United States. The memorial depicts a mother and three children, and commemorates pioneer mothers who settled in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
. The main female figure may depict Esther Short, one of the first U.S. citizens to arrive in Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of the ...
. Commissioned by Vancouver banker Edward Crawford and his wife Ida for $10,000, it is one of the city's oldest works of public art, acquired in 1928 and unveiled in 1929. The sculpture was renovated around the start of the 21st century and is maintained by the City of Vancouver's Parks & Recreation department.
Description
''The Pioneer Mother Memorial'' is installed at Esther Short Park's north entrance, at the intersection of West 8th and Daniel Street (between Columbia and Esther Streets) in Vancouver, Washington. The park commemorates the pioneer woman and her husband Amos, who were among the first U.S. citizens to arrive inFort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of the ...
. Some sources say the memorial sculpture commemorates Esther Short specifically, while also " ypifyingall the brave mothers of the frontier" who settled in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
. Some sources say the sculpture's main female figure is Short herself, per the dedication ceremony's program. The sculpture was cast in Florence, Italy
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, where Fairbanks was working on his Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
.
The memorial features a full-length bronze figure depicting a mother and three children. The woman wears traditional pioneer clothing, including a long dress, shawl, and shoes. She stands, facing forward, and holds a flintlock
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...
rifle in her proper right hand. The woman's opposite hand rests on the head of the taller of two girls at her proper left side. The taller girl holds the shorter one with her proper left hand, while the shorter girl faces the taller one and rests against the mother's proper left knee. A young boy clings to the mother's dress and leans against her rifle. The sculpture measures approximately × × and rests on a concrete and granite base that measures approximately × × .
Behind the figure group is a concrete backdrop. Its reverse side includes a bronze medallion with a bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
depicting a team of oxen pulling a covered wagon
The covered wagon or prairie wagon, historically also referred to as an ambulance or prairie schooner, was a vehicle usually made out of wood and canvas that was used for transportation, prominently in 19th-century America. With roots in the he ...
. The animals are led by a man, and an "anxious" woman and baby are in the wagon. A large barrel is attached to the wagon. The bottom of the medallion includes a relief of a cattle skull. The medallion has a diameter of approximately .
The memorial includes several inscriptions. One by the woman's foot reads, . The medallion has two inscriptions: one below the wagon displays a copyright symbol and reads, , while another says, . On the concrete backdrop below the medallion is the signed inscription: .
History
''The Pioneer Mother Memorial'' is one of Vancouver's oldest works of public art (the oldest, according to the Clark County Historical Museum), acquired in 1928 and unveiled on July 21, 1929 (or September 7, according to some sources). Fairbanks attended the ceremony. The artist was commissioned to create the memorial by Vancouver banker Edward Crawford and his wife Ida, who donated $10,000 to its creation. The work was classified as needing treatment by theSmithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!
Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999.
History
Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Herit ...
" program in May 1995. It was renovated as part of park improvement efforts around the start of the 21st century. The memorial is maintained by the City of Vancouver's Parks & Recreation department.
See also
*1928 in art
Events from the year 1928 in art.
Events
* January 7 – The Tate Gallery, London, is one of the buildings flooded by the 1928 Thames flood.
* March 26 – The China Academy of Art is founded in Hangzhou (originally named the National Academ ...
* Pioneer Mothers Memorial Cabin Museum, near St. Paul, Oregon
* ''The Pioneer Mother'' (Eugene, Oregon) by Alexander Phimister Proctor
Alexander Phimister Proctor (September 27, 1860 – September 5, 1950) was an American sculpture, sculptor with the contemporary reputation as one of the nation's foremost animaliers.
Birth and early years
Proctor was born on September 27, ...
(1932)
References
External links
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pioneer Mother Memorial, The 1928 establishments in Washington (state) 1928 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Washington (state) Cattle in art Concrete sculptures in Washington (state) Granite sculptures in Washington (state) Monuments and memorials in Vancouver, Washington Monuments and memorials to pioneer women Outdoor sculptures in Vancouver, Washington Sculptures by Avard Fairbanks Sculptures of children in the United States Sculptures of men in Washington (state) Sculptures of women in Washington (state) Statues in Washington (state)