''The Promised Land'' is an outdoor
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 David Manuel, installed in 1993 in Chapman Square (
Plaza Blocks), in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
.
It was de-accessioned in 2020 in response to vandalism and racial justice concerns during the
George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...
.
Description and history
''The Promised Land'' is a
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 ...
depicting a pioneer family, including a father, mother and son, at the end of their journey. It was commissioned by the Oregon Trail Coordinating Council for $150,000 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
. The sculpture measures approximately x x . The
Smithsonian 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 ...
offers the following description:
The sculpture was completed and copyrighted in 1993, and dedicated on March 17 of that year.
According to the Smithsonian, which surveyed the work through its "
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 October 1993, the sculpture was located at the Oregon History Center at 1200 Southeast Park Avenue and was administered by the Oregon Trail Coordinating Council. It was set on a laminated board base which measured approximately x x and weighed 3,000 lbs., and was considered "well maintained" at the time of the survey.
[
The sculpture was installed at Chapman Square, one of the Plaza Blocks, and rested on a red granite slab which contains an inscription of a quote by ]Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
. The plaza in front of the sculpture has sandblasted black bear, coyote, elk, grouse, jackrabbit, black bear and porcupine footprints, plus moccasin prints.[
Portland's art commission objected to the statue as culturally insensitive at the time of its installation, arguing that its celebration of white settlers excluded other groups present in Oregon at the time and criticizing what they described as a lack of artistic merit. The Oregon Trail Coordinating Council, who had commissioned the piece, responded that works representing other groups were in progress.
]
Vandalism and removal
The artwork was vandalized during the local George Floyd protests, and later removed and stored out of public view.
In June 2023, the Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...
awarded the city of Portland and Lewis & Clark College
Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocated to Portland in 1938 and in 1942 adopted the name Lewis & Cl ...
a joint grant to hold public talks about the possible restoration of "The Promised Land" and other statues removed during the Floyd protests.[ ]
Image:George Floyd police brutality protests - Portland Oregon - tedder - 20200610-025.jpg, Sculpture during George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...
File:Portland, Oregon, July 25, 2020 - 23.jpg, Installation site on July 25, 2020
See also
* 1993 in art
* ''Covered Wagon'' (sculpture), in Salem
* City on a Hill
* Manifest Destiny
Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America.
There were three basic tenets to the concept:
* The special vir ...
References
External links
The Promised Land - Portland, OR
at Waymarking.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Promised Land, The
1993 establishments in Oregon
1993 sculptures
Bronze sculptures in Oregon
Oregon Trail
Outdoor sculptures in Portland, Oregon
Plaza Blocks
Sculptures of children in Oregon
Sculptures of men in Oregon
Sculptures of women in Oregon
Statues in Portland, Oregon
Statues removed in 2020
Vandalized works of art in Oregon