Highlights Archives
Who's that Lady? Forward or Wisconsin?
No, that's not the same woman who stands atop the Capitol dome in Madison. Although commonly misidentified as "Miss Forward," the real Forward currently resides in the headquarters building of the Wisconsin Historical Society. See the Forward sculpture in our Museum's collections.
Sculpted by Jean Pond Miner for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Forward embodied the allegory of devotion and progress, the state's motto since 1851, and the qualities Miner felt Wisconsin represented. Miner was born in Menasha in 1865 and grew up in Madison. She attended the Art Institute of Chicago where she had intended on becoming a portrait painter but classes with a famed sculptor convinced her to change her mind. In 1893 the Janesville Ladies Afternoon Club commissioned Miner to create a sculpture representative of Wisconsin for the Columbian Exposition.
Miner's statue was placed at the east entrance to the State Capitol in 1895. Forward was moved in 1916 to the North Hamilton Street entrance where it remained until 1995. Years of exposure to the elements had damaged the delicate bronze sculpture so the decision was made to relocate the original work to the Society in 1998. A replica now stands on the Capitol Square. See photos of Miner and her statue as well as this rather odd likeness of Forward from the 1948 Wisconsin State Fair.
By the way, the woman on top of the Capitol dome is "Wisconsin," a 23-½ caret gold-gilded bronze statue by Daniel Chester French.
:: Posted March 6, 2006
|
