The Spirit of Progress - Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 53.779 W 087° 38.591
16T E 446646 N 4638463
Figure in flowing, knee-length gown. In her proper right hand she holds a torch and in her proper left hand a caduceus. She stands balanced on the toes of her proper left foot atop a sphere.
Waymark Code: WM7K64
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 11/03/2009
Views: 8
Located atop the former Montgomery Ward and Company Administration Building, 619 West Chicago Avenue, Rooftop, Chicago, Illinois 60610
From the Art Inventory site:
"The former Montgomery Ward and Company Administration Building is now a condominium. According to the publication by Ira J. Bach and Mary Lackritz Gray, the sculptor was thought to be Joseph Conradi who did sculptural work on a number of Chicago buildings. However, captions on photos taken in 1929 by the foundry list the artist as George Mulligan, son of sculptor Charles James Mulligan. Another cast of the sculpture was once located in Albany (Menands), New York, but this sculpture was melted down in 1942 for the war effort."
TITLE: The Spirit of Progress
ARTIST(S): Mulligan, George, sculptor. Conradi, Joseph, 1867-1936, sculptor. (formerly attributed to) American Bronze Company, founder.
DATE: ca. 1928. Installed 1929.
MEDIUM: Sculpture: bronze, with patina; Base: concrete.
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 87580036
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
atop 619 W. Chicago Avenue
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
none
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