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''The Pioneer'' is a thirteen-foot-tall
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 ...
formerly located on the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
campus in
Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It was the artistic work of
Alexander Phimister Proctor Alexander Phimister Proctor (September 27, 1860 – September 5, 1950) was an American sculptor with the contemporary reputation as one of the nation's foremost animaliers. Birth and early years Proctor was born on September 27, 1860 in Bo ...
, commissioned by Joseph Nathan Teal, a Portland attorney. A ceremony celebrated its unveiling on May 22, 1919. It included attendance from persons all across the state, the majority of enrolled students, and a special section of the crowd was reserved for the remaining settlers. T. G. Hendricks and his granddaughter removed the canvas cover, unveiling the statue. As of June 13th, 2020 the statue is no longer standing on the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
campus.


Creation and design

''The Pioneer'' was a long time in the making. Proctor had completed sculptures of settler groups, but he searched for a model that would "typify the real spirit of the West." After a ten-year search, he found the image in J. C. Cravens, an "old trapper bewhiskered without a haircut heavy boots thick plants a buckskin coat carrying his rifle and leading a nag." Once he had this model, Proctor took the idea to Portland lawyer and businessman Joseph Teal, who commissioned the sculpture. It was the first statue placed on the University of Oregon campus. ''The Pioneer'' is about ruggedness and movement. In form, the sculpture follows attributes of the model with him being portrayed in similar garb, a full beard, and a rifle slung over his shoulder. His body language is proud, as seen in the set of his shoulders and the level of his chin. Further, his open stance implies movement, with his eyes gazing forward and his weight seeming to be in the process of shifting from one foot to the next. The natural, hard organic sentiment flows all the way to his rock pedestal. The basalt was "one that had weathered many storms and had been tossed about by the river currents yet enduring ... roctorthought it was in keeping with the ideals of the Pioneer who had weathered similar storms."


Location

The statue's location was chosen with care, both in its general location and in its specific spot. The bronze was cast from a plaster form in Rhode Island and its trip to Oregon took over a month by train. When Proctor gave his presentation address of the sculpture he said:
"It is sufficient to say that here the Willamette and McKenzie rivers join their waters into one grand channel and create this beautiful valley, the paradise to which the pioneer struggled over great mountains and across desert plains to which he first came in numbers, and in which he made home. No more fitting place than the campus of University of Oregon could be found for the memorial."
A committee including Mr. and Mrs. Teal, Dean Ellis F. Lawrence, and
Irene Hazard Gerlinger Irene Strang Hazard Gerlinger (December 3, 1876 – April 5, 1960) was an American fundraiser and the first woman on the University of Oregon Board of Regents. She is the namesake for Gerlinger Hall on the University of Oregon campus. Irene Hazar ...
chose its exact physical location. He was placed within the Oregon fir trees facing the Administrative Building between the library (Fenton Hall) and Friendly Hall on the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
campus. Although he is to embody the western spirit, ''The Pioneer'' is situated facing south on this site. This orientation was intentional on the part of the artist to ensure that his front is bathed in the greatest light, which only comes from the southern exposure.


Naming

When this sculpture was created and placed its official name was ''The Pioneer'', not ''The Pioneer Father''. The name "Pioneer Father" only came about after the intentions of the creation of the ''Pioneer Mother'' was made public in the late 1920s; it was an edit that provided a means to distinguish between the two sculptures. However, with this change, the original intent was misconstrued or lost altogether. When ''The Pioneer'' was unveiled, Joseph Teal said:
"This statue is erected and dedicated to the memory of all Oregon pioneers. It is in no sense personal or individual and it is my earnest wish and hope that this fact may ever be kept in mind." "The pioneer represents all that noblest and best in our history. The men and women who saved the west for this country were animated by the highest motives. They made untold sacrifices and endured hardships of every kind in order that their children might enjoy the fruits of their labor."
At the 1919 dedication, the President of the Oregon Historical Society extolled the virtues of the Anglo-Saxon race, stating,
"the Anglo-Saxon race is a branch of the Teutonic race. It was and is a liberty-loving race. It believes in the protection of life and of liberty an in the rights of property and the pursuit of happiness. This race has large powers of assimilation, and its great ideas of liberty and of the rights of mankind caused other races to become a part of it, so it became a people as well as a race."
It was designed to be a memorial for all Oregon settlers, men and women alike. Marc Carpenter, who researched the history of the statue in 2018, stated, "A monument is a celebration. Monuments innately celebrate that which they depict. So, to me, it feels very similar to the confederate monuments that speckled a large part of the rest of the country. It’s a monument to violence and white supremacy."


History

In a 1928 newspaper article, the statue was described as standing "in the center of the campus", and depicting "the pioneer spirit of the West". By 1929, the statue was guarded against vandalism, along with other Eugene landmarks, prior to the homecoming football game rivalry with
Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...
. An editorial in the ''Eugene Guard'' in 1931 mentioned, in the context of the in-state rivalry, "Orange paint of the hue so popular in the vicinity of Corvallis daubs the pavements at the University, the big 'O' on Skinner's Butte, even the famous Pioneer statue." In 1963, describing "Goblin antics", the ''Eugene Guard'' reported, "Someone took the Halloween occasion Thursday night to decorate the ''Pioneer Father'' statue on the University of Oregon campus. Arrows 'protruded' from his body and a tomahawk was 'imbedded' in his head."


Removal

The statue was vandalized in April 2019. Then on May 20, 2019, the hundredth anniversary of the statue's installation, students from the Native American Students Union held a protest, calling for the ''Pioneer'' to be removed due to the experience of Native American peoples of Oregon. UO President Michael Schill created a committee with the charge, "to make recommendations to balance the representation of history on campus to include people of diverse backgrounds". On June 13, 2020, following a rally at
Deady Hall University Hall, formerly Deady Hall, is a historic building located in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was built from 1873 to 1876 by W. H. Abrams to a design by architect William W. Piper. It was the University of Oregon's first building, and ...
(the renaming of which has been requested), a group of unknown individuals pulled down and vandalized the statue and moved it to the front steps of Johnson Hall, also toppling and defacing '' The Pioneer Mother''. On June 14, the university put both statues into storage.


See also

* 1919 in art *
List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests During the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, a number of monuments and memorials associated with racial injustice were vandalized, destroyed or removed, or commitments to remove them were announced. This occu ...


References


External links

*
''Pioneer'' (sculpture)
at 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 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pioneer, The 1919 establishments in Oregon 1919 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Oregon Monuments and memorials in Oregon Outdoor sculptures in Eugene, Oregon Sculptures of men in Oregon Statues by Alexander Phimister Proctor in Oregon University of Oregon campus Vandalized works of art in Oregon Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests Statues removed in 2020