Founding of Detroit Pylon [Plaster]

Dublin Core

Title

Founding of Detroit Pylon [Plaster]

Subject

Figure sculpture, American--20th century

Description

Founding of Detroit Pylon, 1950
Plaster original

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall M. Fredericks
1991.066

The Victory Eagle on the facade of the Veterans Memorial Building in Detroit is 30 feet high and projects 4-½ feet from the wall in high relief. The museum displays the quarter-scale version and two of the seven free-standing pylons originally placed in front of the building along the walkway leading to the entrance. The pylons were later moved next to the building parallel to the facade. Twenty feet high and carved with incised relief, they depict scenes from important events in the city's history. Here, the Founding of Detroit Pylon and Civil War Pylon frame either side of The Victory Eagle.

On the right, the Civil War Pylon shows Abraham Lincoln parting the North and South. Below are Generals Grant and Lee. The Founding of Detroit Pylon on the left depicts the French explorer, Antione de la Mothe de Cadillac, who founded Detroit in 1701. Below Cadillac is Father Gabriel Richard who made important contributions to the early spiritual, educational and cultural life of Detroit. Other pylons include Indian Wars, Battle of the Great Lakes, Spanish-American War, Battle of Lake Erie, War of 1812, WWII, and the Peace pylon. The Peace pylon is engraved, "In the hearts of all mankind is the Eternal Hope for Universal Peace."

Fredericks stated about the Victory Eagle:
"The problem was to take a natural object, one especially familiar to everyone, and simplify it in form to something almost architectural in quality, absolutely abstract in form and line, to tie in with the masses and character of the building, yet retain the character and meaning of the natural object. Also, it was necessary to indicate power and motion of the eagle, still make it an integral part of the marble wall, solid yet mobile; an architectural entity, and yet imbue it with the spirit of life."

As a result of this sculpture, Fredericks was awarded the American Institute of Arts Medal in 1952, a distinction awarded only five times between 1914 and 1998. In 1953, he was awarded an honorary life membership in the Michigan Society of Architects as the first sculptor to be honored by them.

Creator

Fredericks, Marshall M., 1908-1998

Date

1947

Rights

Use of this image requires permission from the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum

Type

Sculpture

Coverage

University Center (Mich.)

Sculpture Item Type Metadata

Physical Dimensions

206.5" x

Materials

Plaster full-scale

Catalog Number

1991.066

Object Location

Main Exhibit Gallery

Provenance

1989 March, 22 Gift to Museum and SVSU Board of Control

Notes

Early Detroit: 1701-1760
was founded July 24, 1701, by Antoine de Lamoree Cadillac, who landed in this vicinity on that date. With him were one hundred Frenchmen and a like number of Indians. Cadillac took possession of the land in the name of Louis VBW. Here was built Fort Ponticellos to prevent English traders from using the water route to the upper Great Lakes. The site was on the peninsula between the Detroit River and Savoyard Creek. Huron, Ottawa and Potawatomi Indians accepted the invitation of Cadillac to settle near the fort. Detroit he wished to develop as an agricultural settlement. Mesdames Cadillac and Tony arrived later in 1701. Other families followed them. After Cadillac's removal in 1710, Detroit's growth was retarded for many years. In 1712 the French and their Indian allies fought and destroyed a band of Fox Indians camped north of the fort. The French crown encouraged the development of the colony in the 1740s by offering seed, livestock and farm equipment to settlers. The fort was enlarged in the 1750s. Detroit then had a French population of about one thousand, and farms lined the river above and below the fort as well as across the river.

Files

1991.066.jpg

Citation

Fredericks, Marshall M., 1908-1998, “Founding of Detroit Pylon [Plaster],” Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum, accessed March 19, 2024, https://omeka.svsu.edu/items/show/5116.